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Babar Azam Creates History, Joins Imran Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq in Pakistan’s Elite Captaincy Club…
The Pakistan skipper became only the third cricketer from the country to lead the national team in 150 international matches, achieving a milestone previously reached by two legendary captains.
Pakistan cricket witnessed a historic moment during the second Test against the West Indies when captain Babar Azam entered an exclusive list of Pakistani cricket legends.
Leading Pakistan in the second Test at Port of Spain, Trinidad, Babar became only the third Pakistan cricketer to captain the national side in 150 international matches.
The milestone places him alongside two of Pakistan’s greatest leaders — former captain and World Cup-winning legend Imran Khan and former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq.
Babar achieved the landmark during a crucial Test match where Pakistan were looking to bounce back after losing the opening game of the two-match series by 90 runs.
Babar Joins Pakistan’s Greatest Captains
Before the second Test against West Indies, Babar had led Pakistan in 149 international matches, including:
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- 21 Tests
- 43 ODIs
- 85 T20Is
With his 150th appearance as captain, Babar became part of an exclusive group.
The list of Pakistan captains with the most international matches includes:
| Player | Matches as Captain | Tests | ODIs | T20Is |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imran Khan | 187 | 48 | 139 | 0 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | 151 | 56 | 87 | 8 |
| Babar Azam | 149+ | 21 | 43 | 85 |
| Wasim Akram | 134 | 25 | 109 | 0 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 119 | 31 | 87 | 1 |
While Babar has already surpassed several former Pakistan captains, he still has a long way to go before challenging Imran Khan’s record of 187 matches as captain.
A Chance to Break Another Pakistan Record
Apart from captaincy milestones, Babar is also closing in on another major achievement.
Before the second Test against West Indies, the right-handed batter had scored 6,820 runs as Pakistan captain across 149 matches.
He now needs only 180 more runs to become the second Pakistan skipper to cross the 7,000-run mark as captain.
The current record belongs to Misbah-ul-Haq, who scored 7,392 runs while leading Pakistan in 151 international matches.
Babar’s captaincy tally includes:
15 centuries- 6,820 runs before the second Test
Meanwhile, Imran Khan occupies the third position on the list with 5,655 runs as captain along with 318 wickets during his leadership career.
Babar Returns as Test Captain After Nearly Three Years
The second Test also marked Babar’s return as Pakistan’s Test captain after a gap of 1,097 days.
The star batter had already made an impact in the first Test against West Indies, scoring an unbeaten 58 runs in the second innings.
However, Pakistan entered the second Test under pressure after their defeat in the opening match and made several changes to their playing XI.
Pakistan Make Changes Against West Indies
At the toss, West Indies captain Roston Chase elected to bowl first.
Babar revealed that Pakistan made multiple changes, including bringing in Abdullah Shafique and introducing two debutants.
The Pakistan captain explained that the team needed to focus on building partnerships and avoiding batting collapses.
Pakistan also made the surprising decision to drop pacer Mohammad Abbas, despite his impressive performance in the first Test where he claimed eight wickets.
Babar explained that the decision was based on the conditions, with Pakistan opting for an additional spinner.
West Indies Take Control on Day One
At the end of Day 1, West Indies finished strongly at 239/5 in 74 overs.
All-rounder Justin Greaves remained unbeaten on 64 runs, while captain Roston Chase was not out on 36.
For Pakistan, fast bowler Mohammad Ali was the standout performer with figures of 2/49.
While the result of the Test series remains uncertain, Babar Azam has already secured his place in Pakistan cricket history with a captaincy milestone achieved by only two legends before him.
