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.
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Story summary
Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam is set to return to domestic red-ball cricket for the first time since December 30, 2019. He will 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.
Babar Azam was reappointed as Pakistan’s Test captain in July 2023, leading the team to a draw against the West Indies and a whitewash over England in his first two series. He will arrive back in Pakistan from the UK on September 16 and join the OGDCL squad the following day.
OGDCL is currently playing against Pakistan Television in Islamabad. They have upcoming matches against Kingsmen Academy starting September 18, followed by a match against Khan Research Laboratories (KRL) from September 24. It remains to be seen whether Babar will play in the second or third match based on his decision upon arrival.
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No political leaning scored for article 9317 · logged 2026-09-14
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Farah → arrive → squad
“His kit has been ordered.”
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kit → order → ?
OGDCL are currently playing Pakistan Television in their President’s Trophy opener in Islamabad.
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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.
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They → face → Sept
“Babar will decide upon his arrival if he plays from the second match or the third match,” Farah said.
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Farah → decide → match
Dawn understands that Babar was offered to OGDCL by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as a guest player.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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he → criticise → batters
In the past four years, however, he has failed to score a century in Test cricket.
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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.
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he → show → matches
He missed the opening Test because of injury.
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He → miss → injury
