Babar Azam’s return to the Pakistan Test captaincy, three years after he first relinquished the role, produced an immediate storyline: a two-match series in the Caribbean that swung from a chastening defeat to a rare and overdue away win, leaving the series shared 1-1 but marking Pakistan’s first Test victory outside home soil in three years.
A captaincy comeback three years in the making
Babar first stepped down as Pakistan’s Test captain in late 2023 after leading the side in 20 matches, a tenure that produced 10 wins, six losses and four draws. His successor, Shan Masood, endured a torrid run in charge, losing 12 of 16 Tests, including a home whitewash against Bangladesh and away series sweeps in both Australia and South Africa. With results deteriorating and pressure mounting from within Pakistan’s cricket set-up, the board turned back to Babar ahead of the tours of the West Indies and England, reinstalling him as Test captain in July 2026 in what critics described as the latest turn of the PCB’s long-running captaincy “musical chairs.”
West Indies strike first in Tarouba
Babar’s first Test back in charge did not go to plan. At the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, West Indies posted 311 and skittled Pakistan’s response before Justin Greaves, who took 5 for 27 in the first innings, 2 for 12 in the second and scored 20 runs, was named Player of the Match in a 90-run West Indies win. Set 211 to win on a deteriorating surface, Pakistan collapsed to 120 all out, undone by the home pace attack in familiar fashion, a defeat that revived questions about Pakistan’s fragile technique against high-quality seam bowling away from home, even with Mohammad Abbas taking five wickets in West Indies’ second innings.
Shafique and Babar respond in Trinidad
The tone shifted dramatically at Queen’s Park Oval. Opener Abdullah Shafique, playing his first Test century in nearly two years since his last hundred against England in October 2024, made 107 not out from 173 balls, anchoring an unbroken third-wicket stand of 168 with Babar Azam, who fell agonisingly short of his own century when he was run out. The partnership put Pakistan in complete control of the match after West Indies had made 344 in their first innings, and off-spinner Sajid Khan then took control with the ball, finishing with four wickets in West Indies’ second innings and reducing the hosts to 103 for 6 in their chase, sealing an eventual eight-wicket win for the tourists.
Ending the overseas drought
The Trinidad victory was Pakistan’s first Test win outside their own borders in three years, a statistic that had become a source of considerable embarrassment given the frequency with which the side toured in that period without success. It also meant the West Indies-Pakistan series finished 1-1 for the third consecutive edition between the two sides, a scoreline that has become something of a pattern in this fixture even as personnel and captains have changed on both sides.
Diverging verdicts on what it proves
Supporters of Babar’s reappointment have pointed to the response in Trinidad as vindication, arguing that his calm authority and his own bat, evident in his unbeaten 86 through the middle session of day two, steadied a dressing room that had capitulated meekly in the series opener. Sceptics counter that a single win against a West Indies side itself languishing near the bottom of the World Test Championship table should not be overstated, noting Pakistan still could not close out the series 2-0 despite dominating large stretches of the second Test, and that the same batting fragility exposed in Tarouba remains unresolved heading into tougher assignments.
What’s next for Babar and Pakistan
Pakistan’s next assignment, a Test tour of England that followed this Caribbean trip, offered an immediate examination of whether the Trinidad performance reflected genuine improvement or a one-off recovery; that series ended in a 3-0 whitewash for the home side, a result that will only intensify scrutiny of Babar’s second captaincy stint. With Pakistan sitting near the bottom of the WTC standings and both selection and technique against moving pace still under the microscope, the coming home summer and any further away fixtures will determine whether the Trinidad turnaround was the start of a genuine revival or simply one bright afternoon in an otherwise difficult cycle.
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