New Delhi, Sep 15 — Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam is set to return to the domestic red-ball circuit for the first time in seven years in a bid to regain his form.
Babar's last domestic first-class appearance came when he led Central Punjab to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title in December 2019. He will play for Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in the ongoing President's Trophy Grade 1 first-class tournament after the department signed him as a guest player.
Babar joined a number of Pakistan internationals featuring in the President’s Trophy amid the PCB’s recent push for established players to participate in domestic first-class cricket. ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi is representing KRL, while T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha is playing for Kingsmen Academy, according to Dawn.
“Babar will arrive back in Pakistan from the UK on Sept 16 and will join the OGDCL squad the next day,” OGDCL sports head Farah was quoted as saying. “His kit has been ordered. Babar will decide upon his arrival if he plays from the second match or the third match,” Farah said.
Babar has long been criticised for distancing himself from domestic red-ball cricket. He has not scored a century in Test cricket since December 2022, when he scored 161 in a draw against New Zealand in Karachi. His Test average since the start of 2023 is 30.43, 12.55 runs lower than his career average in the format.
Pakistan are ranked ninth in the ICC Test rankings at the moment and are at the bottom of the nine-team World Test Championship table, which is exactly where they were in the last cycle. They have also failed to reach the knockouts of the last four ICC tournaments and were knocked out of the home Champions Trophy in 2025 within five days of its start after losing the first two of their three group matches, to New Zealand and India.