Babar Azam Returns to Pakistan Domestic Cricket After 7 Years

Babar Azam is set to make his return to Pakistan's domestic red-ball cricket after nearly seven years away from the first-class circuit. The Pakistan Test captain's comeback comes after a difficult period for both his team and his own batting, including a 3-0 Test series defeat against England.

Babar last played domestic first-class cricket in 2019, when he captained Central Punjab to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title after beating Northern by an innings and 16 runs in the final on December 30 that year.

He is now expected to feature for Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in the ongoing President's Trophy Grade-I. OGDCL's sports head Farah Batool said Babar is scheduled to return to Pakistan from the UK on September 16 and join the squad the following day. His exact match will be decided after his arrival.

OGDCL are currently playing Pakistan Television in their opening fixture in Islamabad. Their next matches are against Kingsmen Academy in Peshawar from September 18 and Khan Research Laboratories from September 24.

The Pakistan Cricket Board has reportedly offered Babar to OGDCL as a guest player as part of efforts to bring established international cricketers back into domestic first-class cricket. White-ball captains Shaheen Shah Afridi and Salman Ali Agha are also participating in the competition for KRL and Kingsmen Academy respectively.

Babar's Test batting has faced increasing scrutiny. He averaged 22, 20 and 31 in Tests during the 2023, 2024 and 2025 calendar years and has not scored a century in the format for four years.

He had shown signs of improvement during Pakistan's West Indies tour, scoring 196 runs in two Tests and being named player of the series. Against England, however, he managed scores of 8, 6, 7 and 76 after missing the opening Test due to injury.

With Pakistan's Test results under pressure, Babar's return to domestic red-ball cricket gives him an opportunity to spend more time in the longer format and work on regaining his consistency away from the international spotlight.