Babar Azam is regarded as one of Pakistan's better batters in the modern-day game. The 29-year-old has been the spine of the batting order in recent years, but numbers suggest a downfall in his form in the red-ball format.
Babar & Pakistan find themselves in the sixth position on the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table. Ahead of the resumption of the round of Test matches ahead of the WTC final, the talisman will have to put all his abilities to use, to win matches for his country.
Until recently, Babar Azam was the skipper in the longer format, but would now play under the captaincy of batting compatriot, Shan Masood. Captaincy, as per batting numbers, did not fizzle his form as a player.
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How has Babar Azam performed in Tests?
Babar Azam has been going through a slack in form over the past two seasons. The Pakistani batter was at the peak of his powers in the red-ball from 2018 to 2022. However, Babar has seen a downturn ever since.
Scoring just over 250 runs in Test cricket since 2023, Babar would have to live up to his name for the upcoming round of home games against Bangladesh and England.
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| Year | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate | 50s | 100s | High Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 10 | 291 | 32.3 | 50.4 | 2 | 0 | 90 |
| 2017 | 12 | 184 | 16.7 | 36.9 | 2 | 0 | 72 |
| 2018 | 14 | 616 | 56.0 | 54.5 | 6 | 1 | 127 |
| 2019 | 11 | 616 | 68.4 | 72.3 | 3 | 3 | 104 |
| 2020 | 6 | 338 | 67.6 | 59.9 | 2 | 1 | 143 |
| 2021 | 13 | 416 | 34.7 | 48.5 | 4 | 0 | 77 |
| 2022 | 17 | 1184 | 69.6 | 54.9 | 7 | 4 | 196 |
| 2023 | 9 | 204 | 22.7 | 53.8 | 0 | 0 | 41 |
| 2024 | 2 | 49 | 24.5 | 53.3 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
How many Tests will Babar play in 2024?
| Opposition | Test | Date | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh | 1st Test | August 21 - August 25 | Rawalpindi |
| Bangladesh | 2nd Test | August 30 - September 03 | Rawalpindi |
| England | 1st Test | October 07 - October 11 | Multan |
| England | 2nd Test | October 15 - October 19 | Karachi |
| England | 3rd Test | October 24 - October 28 | Rawalpindi |
| South Africa | One-Off Test | December 26 - December 30 | Centurion |