Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has now gone 80 innings without an international century.
Among Pakistan’s top-four batters, only Mohammad Rizwan, with 82 innings, has experienced a longer streak without a hundred in international cricket.
Babar’s last international century came against Nepal in the ACC Asia Cup 2023 in Multan.
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Since then, he has gone 799 days without reaching the three-figure mark.
This period also saw a significant dip in his overall batting average.
While he averaged 54.12 across all formats in 2022, his form declined over the next three years, with averages of 39.97 in 2023, 32.44 in 2024, and 30.62 in 2025.
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The slump in form also led to Babar being dropped from Pakistan’s Test and T20I squads in 2024.
He missed the second and third home Tests against England in 2024 and was sidelined from T20Is, making a comeback during the recent South Africa T20I series, where he played a match-winning knock of 68 in the third T20I, earning the Player of the Match award.
READ: Babar Azam guides Pakistan past South Africa in T20I series
He also went around three years in Test cricket without scoring a fifty at home, a streak he ended with a half-century in the second Test against South Africa.
Additionally, he had gone without a fifty in Tests from 2022 to 2024, a drought he finally broke during the South Africa Test series in 2024.
Globally, former Sri Lankan great Sanath Jayasuriya also went 88 international innings without a century.
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Virat Kohli went 83 innings without a ton between 2019 and 2022 before regaining form in the 2022 Asia Cup and scoring eight centuries in 2023.
Other notable names include Shivnarine Chanderpaul (78 innings) and AB de Villiers (67 innings).
Prominent cricketers who have gone many innings without a ton:
88 – Sanath Jayasuriya
83 – Virat Kohli
80* – Babar Azam
78 – Shivnarine Chanderpaul
67 – AB de Villiers
Babar’s 80-inning drought is one of the longest among active international cricketers.
His struggles continued in the first ODI against South Africa, where he was dismissed for 7.
READ: Pakistan secures highest successful chase in Faisalabad against South Africa
Pakistan, however, managed to win the match by two wickets, thanks to half-centuries from Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan, along with solid contributions from the bowlers.
