Babar Azam is going back to work in Pakistan’s first-class competition. The batter has been placed with Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) as a guest player for the President’s Trophy Grade-I, Pakistan’s premier domestic red-ball tournament, which began on 12 September.
His kit has been ordered and the flight is booked. OGDCL sports head Farah Batool set out the timing in an interview with Dawn.
“Babar will arrive back in Pakistan from the UK on Sept 16 and will join the OGDCL squad the next day.”
Batool said the Pakistan captain would decide on arrival whether to start straight away.
“Babar will decide upon his arrival if he plays from the second match or the third match.”
OGDCL’s next two fixtures are against Kingsmen Academy in Peshawar on 18 September and Khan Research Laboratories on 24 September.
A red-ball itch he asked to scratch
The move was not imposed on him. Babar requested that the Pakistan Cricket Board find him a domestic slot to keep him ticking over in the longer format, and the PCB paired him with OGDCL, Dawn reported.
He has not scored a Test century since December 2022, when he made 161 against New Zealand in Karachi. His Test average since the start of 2023 sits at 30.43, more than 12 runs below his career mark in the format, according to CricTracker.
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The last time Babar played first-class cricket at home was 30 December 2019, when he led Central Punjab to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title with an innings-and-16-runs win over Northern.
He is not the only one heading back
The President’s Trophy has drawn several of Pakistan’s frontline internationals. Shaheen Shah Afridi is with Khan Research Laboratories and Salman Ali Agha is playing for Kingsmen Academy, meaning OGDCL will run into both in the coming fortnight. All-rounder Aamer Jamal has signed on as a guest player with debutants MITS.
A whitewash and a squad shake-up in the background
Babar’s domestic reset comes days after Pakistan were beaten by eight wickets at Edgbaston, sealing a 3-0 series loss in England. He top-scored in Pakistan’s second innings with 76.
Before that third Test, the PCB tore up its squad, replacing seven players. Senior names Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq and Salman Ali Agha were among those dropped, and five uncapped players were brought in. Babar himself said afterwards he had learned of the changes from the board’s statement rather than being consulted.
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“It was news to me,” he told reporters ahead of the Edgbaston Test, as quoted by Geo News.
OGDCL open their campaign against Pakistan Television in Islamabad before the Peshawar trip on 18 September, the fixture Babar is most likely to feature in.
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