The Aporia · Babar Azam set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly six years

Babar Azam, Pakistan's Test captain, is set to return to domestic red-ball cricket for the first time since December 30, 2019, playing for Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in the President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament. Scheduled to arrive in Pakistan from the UK on September 16, Babar's participation is part of the PCB's initiative encouraging international players to engage more with domestic cricket. This move comes after criticism of his absence from first-class matches and amid recent underperformance in Test cricket, including scores below fifty during the England series.

Written by AI on 2026-09-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

Story summary

Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam is set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly six years, with plans to play for Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament. OGDCL's sports head Farah Batool confirmed this news to Dawn on Monday. Azam last played a domestic first-class match when he led Central Punjab to victory against Northern by an innings and 16 runs in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final on December 30, 2019. He will arrive back from the UK on September 16 and is scheduled to join OGDCL's squad the following day. The team is currently facing Pakistan Television in Islamabad and will compete against Kingsmen Academy in Peshawar starting September 18, followed by a match against Khan Research Laboratories from September 24. Azam has yet to decide if he will play in the second or third match upon his arrival.

Written for “Babar Azam Returns To Cricket” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

📰 Babar Azam Returns To Cricket

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Babar Azam set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly seven years Same event

Dawn

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2026-09-30 · assertive framing · The fightback in Bandung and Pakistan football’s reality

🔮 Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam is set to return to the country’s domestic red-ball circuit for the first time since 2019, with the batter featuring for Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-I, the department’s sports head Farah Batool confirmed to Dawn on Monday.

2026-09-14 · assertive framing · Babar Azam set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly seven years

2026-09-14 · assertive framing · Babar Azam set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly six years

Also by Mir Shabbar Ali

The fightback in Bandung and Pakistan football’s reality

2026-09-30 · Dawn

Babar Azam set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly seven years

2026-09-14 · Dawn

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam is set to return to the country’s domestic red-ball circuit for the first time since 2019, with the batter featuring for Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade-I, the department’s sports head Farah Batool confirmed to Dawn on Monday.

framing: assertive · carried by 2 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-14

2026-09-14 · Dawn

Babar Azam set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly six years · assertive framing

2026-09-15 · Dawn

Babar Azam set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly seven years · assertive framing

head → set → Monday

Babar’s last domestic first-class appearance came when he led Central Punjab to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy title, beating Northern by an innings and 16 runs in the final on Dec 30, 2019. asserted

he → come → Dec

The batter, who was reappointed Pakistan’s Test captain in July, led the national side to a 1-1 draw against the West Indies and a 3-0 whitewash against England in his first two series in charge. asserted

who → reappointe → charge

“Babar will arrive back in Pakistan from the UK on Sept 16 and will join the OGDCL squad the next day,” Farah said. asserted

Farah → arrive → squad

“His kit has been ordered.” asserted

kit → order → ?

OGDCL are currently playing Pakistan Television in their President’s Trophy opener in Islamabad. asserted

OGDCL → play → Islamabad

They will face Kingsmen Academy in Peshawar in their next match from Sept 18, followed by a fixture against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) from Sept 24. asserted

They → face → Sept

“Babar will decide upon his arrival if he plays from the second match or the third match,” Farah said. asserted

Farah → decide → match

Dawn understands that Babar was offered to OGDCL by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as a guest player. asserted

Babar → understand → player

He joins a number of prominent Pakistan internationals featuring in the President’s Trophy amid the PCB’s recent push for established players to participate in domestic first-class cricket. asserted

players → join → cricket

Pakistan’s One-day International captain Shaheen Shah Afridi is representing KRL, while T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha is playing for Kingsmen Academy. asserted

Agha → represent → Academy

Babar has long been criticised for distancing himself from domestic red-ball cricket during the years in which he rose to prominence as one of Pakistan’s leading batters. asserted

he → criticise → batters

In the past four years, however, he has failed to score a century in Test cricket. asserted

he → fail → cricket

He showed signs of a return to form during Pakistan’s recent tour of the West Indies, where he was named player of the series after topping the batting charts with 196 runs across the two matches. asserted

he → show → matches

He missed the opening Test because of injury. asserted

He → miss → injury

Babar Azam set to return to domestic red-ball cricket after nearly six years

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