After a title-winning run as captain with Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), a reinvigorated Babar Azam is keen to continue playing all three formats for his country.
The former Pakistan skipper led Peshawar to the PSL title on Sunday and ended the tournament as the highest scorer, with 588 runs in 11 innings, including two centuries.
Though he has been a mainstay for Pakistan in all three formats for the majority of his career, Babar has struggled for runs in international cricket in recent times. At the recently concluded T20 World Cup, he could only score 91 runs in four innings as Pakistan failed to qualify for the semifinals.
“My focus is on all three formats. I feel a batter should play all cricket and should not limit himself to white-ball cricket. Red-ball cricket teaches you the art of batting long and instils patience in you. It helps you to understand how you can score big runs. And all the learnings from the red-ball game help you in white-ball cricket,” Babar said.
Babar’s last century in Test cricket came way back in December 2022, but he will have an opportunity to end that drought when Pakistan takes on Bangladesh in a two-Test series that begins on Friday.
“I was not up to my own expectations, but it is normal for a batter to struggle with his execution. You have to take a few steps back and assess where you are going wrong and correct it. You need support in such times, and my family and close friends kept me motivated. I discussed the areas of improvement with the coaches who are close to me and worked on them,” Babar said.
“Life is like a rollercoaster, and things never stay the same. You learn from your good and bad experiences. That is how life goes,” he added.
Published on May 05, 2026