Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has returned to the T20I squad for the upcoming series against South Africa and the T20I tri-nation series featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
Babar was left out of the T20I side after Pakistan’s T20I series defeat in South Africa, a series that also saw Mohammad Rizwan removed from captaincy.
Following that series, Pakistan lost 4–1 in New Zealand, swept Bangladesh 3–0 at home, but were then beaten 2–1 by the same side away.
The team later edged West Indies 2–1 in the Caribbean before reaching the final of the T20I Asia Cup 2025, where they lost to India.
Once regarded as the backbone of Pakistan’s batting, Babar has not played a T20I since 2024.
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He has gone 10 innings in the format—including the T20 World Cup 2024—without scoring a fifty, averaging 26.22 with a strike rate of 118.59 during that period.
In the PSL 2025, Babar showed glimpses of form, scoring 288 runs in 10 innings at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 128.57.
For Pakistan in 2024, he accumulated 738 T20I runs at an average of 33.54 and a strike rate of 133.21 across 23 innings.
He was also included in the ICC T20I Team of the Year in 2024.
In Babar’s absence, Sahibzada Farhan was promoted to the top, becoming Pakistan’s leading run-scorer in the Asia Cup 2025 and registering key fifties against India.
With Babar now recalled, the team management will decide whether he plays in place Fakhar Zaman as an opener or bats at one-down to stabilise the innings.
Pakistan will face South Africa in a three-match T20I series before turning their attention to the tri-nation event later in the home season.
