Babar Azam Captaincy Record - Test, ODIs and T20Is

Babar Azam is a Pakistani cricket player. He is a right-handed batter and the captain of the Pakistan team across all formats. Born on 15 October 1994, Babar Azam is the only current batter to feature in the top 5 of every ICC Men’s Batting Rankings across all formats. Azam has captained the Pakistani team in over 90 matches and has been one of the most successful captains for his country.

Babar Azam’s captaincy record in Test cricket

In November 2020, Babar Azam was appointed the captain of the Pakistani Test team, replacing an out-of-form Azhar Ali. His first Test series was at home, in the early parts of 2021, against the Proteas. Azam led his team to a dominating series victory, winning the first match by 7 wickets and the second one by 95 runs. A couple of months later, Azam took his team to Zimbabwe for a two-match Test series.

Although he struggled to bat in the matches, scoring only 2 runs in two innings, his team won both the matches convincingly. Next, he went to the West Indies for another two-match Test series. They lost the first match by a mere wicket despite Azam scoring 30 and 55 in both the innings. In the second match, Azam scored 75 in the first innings and 33 in the next one which resulted in Pakistan’s victory by 109 runs.

Then, in November 2021, he went to Bangladesh for a two-match series. Pakistan were again victorious, winning the first match by 8 wickets and the second one by an innings and 8 runs. Next, the Australian team visited Pakistan for a three-match Test series.

Although Pakistan lost the series 1-0, Azam registered his highest score in Test cricket, scoring 196 runs in the second innings of the second match. Azam’s most recent Test series has been against Sri Lanka in July 2022. Pakistan drew the series 1-1, scoring a total of 271 runs in both the matches.

Babar Azam’s captaincy record in ODI cricket

Babar Azam’s first ODI series as a captain was against Zimbabwe in October-November 2020. Pakistan defeated Zimbabwe in the initial two matches, but lost the final one despite Azam scoring a century in the match. Next, Pakistan visited South Africa for a three-match ODI series. The Azam-led Pakistani team won the series 2-1, with him scoring 228 runs.

In July 2021, Pakistan toured England for an ODI series. Although Azam scored 158 runs in the third match after struggling in the first two matches, Pakistan suffered a whitewash by the English team. His next assignment as a captain came in the early parts of 2022, when Australia came to Pakistan.

The mighty Australian team won the first match, but lost the next two consecutive matches. Babar Azam was crucial in Pakistan’s victory against Australia as he scored two centuries and one half-century in the three games. The following series came a couple of months later, against the West Indies. Pakistan defeated a weak West Indian team easily in all the three matches of the series. Azam’s most recent plunder has been against the Dutch team.

In August 2022, the Pakistani team visited the Netherlands for a three-match series which Pakistan won convincingly. Being the captain of the team, Azam scored three consecutive half-centuries against the Netherlands.

Babar Azam’s captaincy record in T20I cricket

Babar Azam has been the most successful Pakistani T20I captain, winning 37 out of 62 matches. His first series as a captain was against the Aussies in November 2019. Pakistan suffered a brutal defeat in the series, losing it by 2-0. Next, he went to Bangladesh for a two-match T20I series which Pakistan won with ease. Then, in August 2020, Pakistan drew a series 1-1, against England.

In 2021, Pakistan played two consecutive series against the Proteas. The first series was held at home, which resulted in Pakistan’s series victory by 2-1. A couple of months later, Pakistan toured South Africa. Azam captained the team in four matches which Pakistan won 3-1. In a match against the Proteas on 14 April 2021, Azam scored a century to win the match by nine wickets.

Then, he went to England for a three-match T20I series. Azam-led Pakistan suffered another defeat at the hands of England. In October, Azam led the Pakistani team into the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup. Pakistan managed to reach the semi-finals before losing to the winners of the tournament, Australia. Also, in the tournament, Pakistan defeated India for the first time in a T20 World Cup, and the team did it in some fashion, winning the match by a whopping 10 wickets.

In 2022, Azam led the Pakistani team in the Asia Cup. Pakistan lost the opening match against India, but they emerged victorious in the following match. Pakistan were the runner-ups of the tournament, losing to Sri Lanka in the finals.

Next, Pakistan played against England in a 7-match T20I series. Azam’s team lost the series 4-3, against an almost second-string-like English team who were lacking some of their major players. Then, Azam visited New Zealand for a tri-nation series against the Kiwis and Bangladesh.

Pakistan won the series and went to Australia for the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup. Azam-led Pakistan lost the opening match against, in which he got out for a duck. In the following match, Pakistan suffered an embarrassing defeat against non-Test playing nation Zimbabwe. Pakistan found success in the third match of the tournament, against the Netherlands.