Babar Azam has captained Pakistan in 152 international matches: 24 Tests, 43 ODIs and 85 T20Is. Only Imran Khan (187) has led Pakistan more often, and Babar moved one ahead of Misbah-ul-Haq (151) when he returned as Test captain in 2026.
His captaincy has come in three spells. He led in all formats from 2020-21 until he resigned after Pakistan’s group-stage exit at the 2023 ODI World Cup. He came back as white-ball captain in 2024 and stepped down again later that year. In July 2026 he replaced Shan Masood as Test captain, the role he holds now.
Babar Azam captaincy record at a glance
| Format | Span | Matches | Won | Lost | Other | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 2021-2026 | 24 | 11 | 9 | 4 drawn | 45.83 |
| ODIs | 2020-2023 | 43 | 26 | 15 | 1 tied, 1 no result | 63.09 |
| T20Is | 2019-2024 | 85 | 48 | 29 | 1 tied, 7 no result | 62.17 |
Win percentages are as ESPNcricinfo calculates them: for Tests, wins as a share of all matches; for ODIs and T20Is, wins as a share of matches with a result, with a tie counting as half a win.
Babar Azam as Test captain
Babar’s first spell as Test captain ran from early 2021 to 2023: 20 Tests, 10 won, 6 lost and 4 drawn. It ended on a high, with a 2-0 series win in Sri Lanka in July 2023, but the period also included a 3-0 home defeat by England in December 2022.
He handed the job to Shan Masood after the 2023 World Cup. Under Masood, Pakistan lost 12 of 16 Tests, and on 5 July 2026 the selectors brought Babar back. His second spell has been hard going so far: he has led in four Tests and won one, a Port of Spain win that levelled the series in the West Indies after defeat in the first Test, before Pakistan lost the series in England.
Babar Azam as ODI captain
Babar captained Pakistan in 43 ODIs between 2020 and 2023 and won 26, a win rate of just over 63% in matches with a result. His last ODIs as captain were at the 2023 World Cup in India, where Pakistan won four of their nine group matches and missed the semi-finals. Mohammad Rizwan took over the ODI side in 2024.
Babar Azam as T20I captain
The T20I side is where Babar captained longest. He first led Pakistan in the format against Australia in 2019 and finished with 85 T20Is as captain, the most by any Pakistan captain, with 48 wins. Under him Pakistan reached the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup and the final in 2022, which they lost to England at the MCG. His last tournament as captain was the 2024 T20 World Cup, where Pakistan went out in the group stage after a Super Over defeat by the USA.
Figures from ESPNcricinfo’s Pakistan captaincy records, to 6 October 2026.
Photo Credit: Alamy