Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has returned to domestic first-class cricket in Pakistan after seven years, but has struggled in the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade - I.
Playing for the Oil & Gas Development Company Limited, Babar has managed a mere 58 runs across four innings at 14.50 in the tournament so far. The last time he played a domestic first-class fixture in Pakistan was way back in 2019, when he led Central Punjab to victory against Northern in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.
After missing the first two fixtures of the tournament due to national responsibilities, the Pakistan skipper returned in the third match as a guest player against Khan Research Laboratories, only to manage scores of 12 and four, respectively. The match ended in a draw, despite OGDCL being asked to follow-on.
In the ongoing fixture against State Bank of Pakistan, Babar was trapped in front by Afaq Afridi for 21 in the first innings. He contributed exactly 21 in the second innings as well, this time at a higher strike-rate of 150. Notably, he has been trapped LBW twice in his four innings in the tournament so far.
Babar’s recent struggles come as part of a busy period in his career, including a major Test overhaul in the recent England series. His last century in Test cricket came in December 2022, when he scored a mammoth 161 in a draw against New Zealand. Since then, the Pakistan batter has gotten off to regular starts, but hasn’t been able to convert any of those into substantial scores.
In his 10-year Test career, Babar currently averages 42.98 with nine hundreds to his name. However, since the start of 2023, his average has dropped to 30.43. His highest score of 88 in this phase came against the West Indies earlier this year.
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After missing out in the first Test against England due to an injury in August this year, Babar piled up 97 runs in four innings in the subsequent two Tests, with three of them being single-digit scores (8 & 6 in the second Test, 7 in the third). He got going in his last innings of the series, scoring 76, before England completed a whitewash.
Pakistan, who are at the bottom of the World Test Championship table, will host Sri Lanka at home for two Tests in November this year. Before that, Babar will have three first-class matches for OGDCL in order to find some form before marshalling his troops against their Asian counterparts.
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