On Wednesday, September 30, 2026, Babar Azam was dismissed for 21 off 39 deliveries in a President’s Trophy Grade-I match at Diamond Cricket Ground in Islamabad. On the first day of the game between OGDCL and State Bank of Pakistan, Babar’s innings was ended by Afaq Afridi’s LBW decision.
At the time of Babar’s exit, OGDCL had chosen to bat first and were at 113-4, putting the team in a challenging situation. Fans flocked to the ground to snap pictures with the 31-year-old after he was dismissed, garnering significant attention from the audience. Before play could resume, ground personnel had to intervene and re-establish order.
Babar made his second home appearance in seven years during the outing, which is indicative of how infrequently he has participated in Pakistan’s elite circuit during his international career.
How has Babar Azam performed thus far during his domestic comeback innings?
Babar’s comeback to domestic cricket kicked off on September 24–27, 2026, in an Abbottabad President’s Trophy match against Khan Research Laboratories. In the match, he scored 12 runs off of 20 balls in the first innings and just 4 in the second, for a total of 16 runs in both innings.
In the three innings he has played since returning to domestic cricket, the knock of 21 on September 30 is his highest individual score. Babar has scored 12, 4, and 21 runs in that sequence across those three innings, and none of the three hits have shown that he has established a reliable first-class rhythm.
Prior to this return, he made his first-class debut in December 2019 while leading Central Punjab to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The meagre returns he has generated in Abbottabad and Islamabad are importantly contextualised by the approximately seven years that have passed between that outing and his current run of matches.
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A franchise T20 league player auction is set for Thursday, October 1, 2026 in Dubai, and Babar is one of the top international names entered. Liam Livingstone, Faf du Plessis, and Phil Salt are among the other well-known players who are anticipated to be sold at the same event, which is the DP World ILT20 auction’s fifth season.
His franchise T20 future for the upcoming season will be decided very quickly after his most recent domestic outing because the auction is scheduled to occur the day after his discharge from Islamabad. Due to the two events’ close proximity, franchise representatives in Dubai will be attentively examining Babar’s form and availability.
