Babar Azam’s long-awaited return to first-class cricket lasted just 20 balls. Playing for OGDCL against Khan Research Laboratories in the President’s Trophy Grade-I at Abbottabad Cricket Stadium on September 26, 2026, Pakistan’s Test captain was dismissed for 12, undone by a short ball from KRL pacer Arshad Iqbal in what Dawn described as his first appearance in the format in nearly seven years.
A Comeback Born Of Necessity
Babar’s decision to turn out in a domestic first-class match was widely read as a direct response to his prolonged struggle for runs in Test cricket. It followed Pakistan’s 3-0 Test series defeat in England, which concluded on September 12, in which Babar managed just 94 runs across four innings with a best of 76. Rather than wait for the next international assignment, Pakistan’s captain opted to seek red-ball rhythm in domestic cricket, a rare sight given how infrequently contracted internationals in Pakistan turn out for first-class sides during the season.
Another Short Ball, Another Failure
The symbolism of the dismissal was hard to miss. Babar faced 20 deliveries, struck two boundaries, and looked to be settling before Arshad Iqbal produced a short delivery that brought about his downfall — echoing a pattern of dismissals to the short ball that has dogged him in international cricket over the past two years. Iqbal went on to finish with figures of 5 for 55 from 16 overs, his third first-class five-wicket haul and his 97th wicket in just 26 matches, while KRL’s total of 398 forced OGDCL, bowled out for 217, to follow on.
Diverging Views On What The Innings Means
Reaction in Pakistan has split along familiar lines. Some former players and commentators have argued that a return to domestic cricket, even a brief one, shows the right intent from a captain under pressure and that a low score in a single innings should not be read as further evidence of decline. Others have been less forgiving, pointing out that the specific method of dismissal — again undone by a short ball — suggests a technical issue that a handful of domestic innings is unlikely to fix, and that the symbolism of the comeback backfiring so quickly will only intensify scrutiny of his place in the Test side.
Captaincy Under The Microscope
Babar’s struggles come at a sensitive time for Pakistan cricket, with selectors and the PCB facing pressure to address the team’s Test form after successive series losses. While Babar remains white-ball captain material in the eyes of most former players, his position specifically in the Test XI, let alone as captain, has become a live topic in Pakistani cricket media, with several outlets openly speculating about a leadership change before Pakistan’s next Test assignment.
The Bigger Picture For Pakistan’s Test Team
Pakistan currently sit ninth in the ICC Men’s Test Team Rankings, above only Zimbabwe among regularly touring nations, a reflection of a difficult period for the format at home. The board has leaned on domestic tournaments like the President’s Trophy to identify batting depth, and Babar’s decision to play in it, whatever the immediate result, has been framed by some PCB officials as a signal that senior players are willing to do the unglamorous work needed to arrest the slide.
How Pakistan’s Other Batters Are Faring By Comparison
Babar’s struggles have been thrown into sharper relief by the form of Saud Shakeel, who was Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in the England series with 204 runs despite the 3-0 defeat. That contrast has fuelled speculation in Pakistani media that Shakeel, rather than Babar, may be best placed to anchor the middle order even if the captaincy question is left untouched for now. PCB chief selector Aaqib Javed has so far resisted calls for wholesale change, telling reporters that consistency in personnel matters as much as short-term returns, but he has also acknowledged that the next domestic round will factor into squad discussions for Pakistan’s upcoming assignments.
What’s Next
Babar and OGDCL will have a second innings, and likely further rounds of the President’s Trophy, to prove the early dismissal was an aberration rather than a continuation of his recent Test troubles. With Pakistan’s next major assignment on the horizon, selectors will be watching his domestic returns closely before finalising squads, making the next few weeks arguably as important to Babar’s international future as anything he does on a Test field in the near term. A substantial score in the second innings, or in the rounds that follow, would go a long way toward quieting the captaincy speculation; another failure to the short ball would only intensify it.
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