Babar Azam has officially returned as the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in the Test format. The match against West Indies in Trinidad and Tobago on Saturday, July 25 will mark his return as captain of the team in this format.
The Pakistan cricket team is currently in the West Indies for a 2-match Test series, a part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Ahead of the match against West Indies, Babar Azam said that he is not under pressure but is feeling confident as the team management has again shown their confidence in him by appointing him as the captain of the team in the longest format of the game.
I am confident: Babar Azam, ahead of West Indies vs Pakistan 1st Test
Before the first match of the two-match Test series against West Indies, Babar Azam was asked what would be his strategy to give the team a match-winning performance.
In response, the veteran batsman said that only through performance can Pakistan win matches, which matters most to him. With his previous experience as captain of the Pakistan cricket team, Babar was expected to make better decisions that would be best for the team.
Babar told Cricinfo, “The pressure is not like that. I am confident and I am very confident about the responsibility that I have got again. The main thing is the performance you have to get from the players, Pakistan wins with that performance, that matters more to me.”
“This is my last experience as a captain, I have learned a lot from it and I will try to make it better. We will take better decisions, which will be better for Pakistan,” he said.
Babar Azam on return as Pakistan’s Test captain pic.twitter.com/hy0vZZNYTx
– Cricinfo (@cricinfo) July 25, 2026
Babar Azam has a good track record as Pakistan captain in Tests
Babar was earlier appointed captain to lead only 20 matches in 2021. However, he had a good first stint as captain of the national team in Tests, winning 10 matches, losing six and drawing four.
Pakistan’s tour of Sri Lanka for a few games in 2023 was his last match as Pakistan captain in his first tenure. Pakistan won the away series 2–0, but he was dropped by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selectors.
He took over the leadership role from Shan Masood, under whose captaincy the team lost 12 out of 16 Tests during a period of 30 months.
Pakistan is at 9th position in the 9-team World Test Championship.
At present, Pakistan cricket team is at the lowest position in the World Test Championship points table after West Indies. So far in the current cycle of the championship, they have played 4 matches and have 4 points, while table topper Australia has 84 points from 8 matches. In the nine-team tournament, West Indies are ranked 8th, one step above Pakistan with 18 points from 10 matches.
Since there is still a long way to go in the title race, Pakistan can still hope for a strong comeback in the points table. If they somehow manage to defeat West Indies in both the matches with Babar Azam as captain, they can progress.
