We break down the Babar Azam captaincy record, all the way through Test cricket, ODIs, T20Is and the PSL.
Babar Azam has been a valuable asset for Pakistani cricket in recent times. Known for his extraordinary batting genius, Babar is also a very capable skipper.
He is currently the fifth Pakistani captain to lead the side in over 100 matches across all formats. To date, he is the only Pakistani skipper to have achieved victory against India in an ICC World Cup event. We break down some of the more impressive stats achieved so far in the Babar Azam captaincy record
Babar currently ranks No. 1 in the ICC Men’s ODI Batting Rankings. He is the only batter to feature in the top five of each ICC Men’s Batting Rankings across all three formats. In addition to his exceptional batting prowess, Azam has captained the Pakistani team in more than 90 matches, making him one of the most successful Pakistani captains of all time.
Babar’s career trajectory as a batter and a captain has been surging upwards in recent times. So much so that the cricketing experts do not hesitate to draw comparisons between him and Virat Kohli. The 29-year-old has demonstrated his worth as an accomplished world-class operator and it reflects on his terrific record as a batter and captain.
Without further adieu, let us jump in to examine Babar Azam captaincy record and look at some of his marvellous achievements as a Pakistani skipper.
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Babar Azam captaincy record across all formats
Babar Azam asserted his arrival on the big stage with a fine half-century on his debut against Zimbabwe (ODI) in 2015. He went on to make his T20I and Test debut for Pakistan in the following year and barely took any time to become a regular across all formats. Babar established himself as a reliable top-order batsman during the three-match ODI series against West Indies back in 2016 where he smashed a hattrick of tons.
On the back of such an impressive run. Babar was able to cement his spot in the team amidst the dwindling careers of Younus Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. Over the years that followed, Azam became, far and away, Pakistan's best batsman, the most famous cricketer in the country, and among the best batsmen in the world.
In the 2019 World Cup edition, Babar played some spectacular knocks against some of the most formidable teams, which included his swashbuckling World Cup hundred in a crunch game against New Zealand.
In December 2020, the 28-year-old was named Pakistan’s captain across all formats, having made his mark in the few matches he deputized previously for Sarfaraz Ahmed. While he doesn't quite have a reputation as one of the deeper thinkers of the game, his captaincy shows embryonic signs of modern progressive thinking, and Babar is very much learning on the job.
Looking at Babar Azam captaincy record, in 130 international games he has led his country in, Azam has won on 76 occasions. The number 1 ODI batsman has found the most amount of success in white-ball cricket where his win percentage is 61.54% and 59.15% in the ODI and T20I formats respectively.
Some of his notable achievements as a skipper came in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cup editions. In the 2021 World Cup, Babar led his side to a maiden World Cup victory against their arch-rivals India by knocking them over by an embarrassing margin of 10 wickets. Subsequently, the team progressed to the semi-final where they were beaten by Australia. His successful run continued in the 2022 World Cup tournament where the team bounced back from an embarrassing defeat against Zimbabwe to make it to the final stage of the tournament.
However, Babar Azam is facing the heat after a poor run in the 2023 Asia Cup where Pakistan failed to make the final and an underwhelming 2023 World Cup. Pakistan have lost three successive matches in the World Cup thus far, losing to India, Australia and Afghanistan in back-to-back games. Pakistan are on the verge of elimination and his captaincy is under the scanner.
Babar Azam captaincy record in Tests
Matches: 20, Won: 10, Lost: 6, Draw: 4, Wins Home: 2, Wins Away: 8, Home Series Win: 1, Away Series Win: 4
50% – Babar’s win record as a Pakistani skipper in Test cricket. The Lahore-based batting prodigy has had immense success in overseas conditions where he has amassed 8 wins. While at home, Babar and his men have only been able to register two wins on home soil, both of which came against South Africa in 2021.
1727 – The number of runs scored by Babar Azam as a Test skipper for Pakistan. A majority of his runs came on home soil. It is imperative to note that Babar scored most of his Test runs against Australia (390) who are often regarded as one of the most fearsome opponents in Test cricket.
196 – His highest Test score as a Test skipper for Pakistan. He played this breathtaking knock against Australia in 2022 under intense Karachi heat. Babar reportedly spent 603 minutes at the crease and got to his 196 before being dismissed by Lyon. His monumental innings averted an embarrassing defeat for Pakistan in the fourth innings.
50.79 – In only 20 games, Babar averages a shade over 50. He maintains a very impressive average in Test cricket as a skipper. However, his overall batting average is around 47. Babar’s average against England is the best at 68.9.
4 – The number of Test centuries that Babar scored as a captain for Pakistan. So far, the 28-year-old has smashed all his centuries against Australia, England, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka. In addition, he also has 11 half-centuries under his belt.
10 – The total number of Test wins achieved by Babar Azam. Contrary to the popular trend, Babar has fared well as a skipper in away conditions winning eight out of 10 games. Babar’s biggest Test victory in terms of run margin came against Sri Lanka in late July winning that game by an innings and 222 runs.
Babar Azam captaincy record in ODIs
Matches: 39, Won: 24, Lost: 13, NR: 1, Tied: 1
61.54% – Babar’s win record as ODI skipper for Pakistan. Babar’s biggest ODI victory came in the 2023 Asia Cup against Nepal by 238 runs. In that same tournament, he also suffered his biggest defeat against his arch-rivals India by a mammoth 228 runs.
24 – The total number of matches won by Babar as an ODI captain for Pakistan. Some of his wins have come against stronger oppositions like Australia, England, and New Zealand.
61.30 – This is Babar Azam’s batting average as an ODI skipper for Pakistan. The reason behind his unbelievably high batting average is his ability to dominate the likes of Australia and England where he averages 98 and 59 respectively.
158 – Babar’s best individual score as a skipper for Pakistan in ODI cricket. He played this magnificent knock against England in a losing cause. His impressive ton helped Pakistan set up a strong total of 331. In the end, the Pakistani bowling turned out to be futile and the game was eventually won by England.
If Pakistan wins tomorrow they will become the No. 1 ODI team, again under the captaincy of King Babar Azam 👑 pic.twitter.com/KCr9DqWPPj
— Hamxa 🏏🇵🇰 (@hamxashahbax21) October 9, 2023
Babar Azam captaincy record in T20Is
Matches: 71, Won: 42, Lost: 23, Tie: 0, NR: 6
59.15% – This is Babar’s winning percentage in T20Is. Babar has led the Men In Green to some emphatic victories in T20I. His best came against India in the 2021 T20 World Cup edition where they bamboozled the arch-rivals India by 10 wickets.
42 – In 71 T20I matches, Pakistan has triumphed on 42 occasions under his leadership. This is the best win record by any Pakistani skipper in T20I cricket. The bulk of his T20I wins came against New Zealand and South Africa.
42.72 – Babar’s overall batting average as a skipper for Pakistan in T20I. Babar reported his best batting average against Australia where he averages around 55. He simply relishes playing against the Aussies.
3 – The number of centuries Babar scored as a T20I captain for Pakistan. He is one of the few players who has a century across all three formats. He notched up 110*, 122, and 101* against England, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Babar Azam captaincy record in PSL
Matches: 22, Won: 6, Lost: 16, NR: 0
27.27% – Babar’s win record in PSL for Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi. He hasn’t had a lot of success in franchise cricket and would certainly look to better his win record in the PSL tournament.
6 – Babar Azam has led Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi to 6 wins in total.
1 – The total number of title win(s) achieved by Babar Azam in the PSL. He powered his franchise Karachi Kings to their maiden PSL title in the 2020 season.
43.8 – Babar Azam averages 43.8 across 8 PSL seasons. In addition, he has also recorded 10 not out scores in this league.
115 – Babar has one solitary century in the PSL league. He scored this swashbuckling century against Quetta Gladiators in the 2023 PSL final. However, Jason Roy’s heroics overshadowed Babar’s masterclass and as a result, Zalmi lost the final in a heart-breaking fashion.
2935 – The total number of runs scored by Babar in PSL which also includes 27 half-centuries. Babar is the highest run-getter in the history of PSL. In addition, his strike rate stands at a moderate-high of 124.84.
Babar Azam's captaincy record in domestic franchise cricket may not be as glittering as the other formats. But given the amount of experience he has at the highest level, Babar can certainly catch up and improve on his existing numbers.
When we lose Babar Azam gets all the blame, but today no one Will give credit to his Captaincy & great tactics?
— SAAD 🇵🇰 (@SaadIrfan258) October 6, 2023
His precise field placings & bowling changes were the reason we defended.
Even in India he's getting "Babar Babar" chants but some of our own people still criticize… pic.twitter.com/TABgL0OmPm
Babar Azam captaincy record overall in international cricket
Matches: 130, Won: 76, Lost: 42, Tie: 1, NR: 7
Babar has made a bright start to his captaincy career. It is safe to conclude that Babar Azam captaincy record is likely to get better as time goes on. Although he has not found a significant amount of success in the longer format, Babar still manages to dazzle his fans with his extraordinary batting performance
Most of his success came in the white-ball format against formidable opposition. Babar Azam first captain his country in T20Is in 2019. The appointment came in a the series against Australia, just before Azam turned 25.
The batsman went on to become the first Pakistani captain to lead more than 50 matches in this format, finding himself in the top five captains of all time for T20Is. To top it off, he also boasts of an excellent win percentage in this format.
In 2019, ahead of their home series with Sri Lanka, Azam was made vice-captain of Pakistan for ODIs and T20Is, courtesy of his consistency in these formats. His side won both of the remaining matches after the first ODI was washed out, clinching the series 2–0.
As captain, he scored his 11th ton in the second ODI, becoming the fastest Pakistani player to reach 1,000 ODI runs based on innings in a calendar year, overtaking the previous record of Javed Miandad.
The impressive Babar Azam captaincy record comprises 76 wins in 130 international appearances. In such a short span, Babar has been able to lead his side to extraordinary milestones.
However, his success as a skipper was also accompanied by some occasional setbacks. However, Babar has proven himself to be a very resilient leader who tries to learn from his errors.
