Babar Azam turns to domestic cricket amid prolonged dip in Test form

Pakistan Test skipper Babar Azam’s dip in form has seen him turn to domestic cricket. The batter is set to represent Oil & Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) as a guest player in the ongoing President’s Trophy Grade 1 first-class tournament, Cricinfo reported.

Azam had requested the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to facilitate his inclusion in a domestic side so that he could remain in touch with the longer format and work on his game. The PCB subsequently arranged his participation with OGDCL.

Azam’s struggles in Test cricket have continued over the past few years. He has not scored a Test century since December 2022, when he made 161 against New Zealand in Karachi. Since the start of 2023, he has averaged just 30.43 in Tests, more than 12 runs below his career average. In 39 innings during this period, he has managed only eight half-centuries, including an alarming 18-innings stretch in which he failed to score beyond 41.

While four of those half-centuries have come in his last five Tests, his highest score since his last century remains 88, made in Pakistan’s win over the West Indies in the second Test of their tour last month. That victory ended Pakistan’s run of eight successive away Test defeats and marked their first overseas Test win since July 2023, but Azam's inability to convert promising starts into substantial scores remains a glaring concern.

Azam’s decline in form has become one of the most debated issues in Pakistan cricket, with former players and pundits frequently dissecting his technique and questioning his struggles in public forums. The debate intensified during Pakistan’s recent three-Test tour of England, where they were swept 3-0. England’s fast bowlers repeatedly exposed Azam's vulnerability against the short ball in the second and third Tests at Lord’s and Edgbaston. Azam missed the series opener at Headingley due to injury.

Despite his prolonged struggles, Azam has largely stayed away from domestic first-class cricket and was not included in any of the eight squads announced by the PCB for this season’s President’s Trophy and President’s Cup last week. In fact, Babar’s last appearance in a domestic first-class tournament came in 2019, when he captained the now-defunct Central Punjab to victory over Northern in the final of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. (ANI)