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Babar Azam, Pakistan's Test captain, is set to return to domestic red-ball cricket for the first time since December 2019, playing for Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) in the President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament. Farah Batool, OGDCL’s sports head, confirmed that Babar will arrive back from the UK on September 16 and join the squad the following day. The PCB has been encouraging established players to participate in domestic matches; Shaheen Shah Afridi and Salman Ali Agha are also playing for other teams in this tournament. Babar's recent performance in Test cricket has drawn criticism, with his last century coming before his absence from red-ball games began.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-15,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
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 2026-09-15,
grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 9567 · logged 2026-09-15
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.
asserted
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
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