Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam achieved a significant milestone in red-ball cricket when the Asian giants squared off against Australia for the opening Test of the three-match series on Thursday at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The game marked Babar’s 50th Test appearance, donning the whites for Pakistan.
Before taking the field, all the members of the Pakistani unit celebrated the special occasion in the dressing room. The newly appointed Test captain Shan Masood felicitated Babar by presenting him with a memento cap and a letter of gratitude. Masood also delivered a short speech, highlighting Babar’s contribution to Pakistan cricket not only as a player but also as an ex-captain.
A clip of the celebration was dropped on the official X account of Pakistan Cricket. The caption of the post read, “Celebrating Babar Azam’s feat. Special souvenir and cap presented to the top player on his 50th Test appearance by the Pakistan captain.”
Celebrating @babarazam258's feat 🌟Special souvenir and cap presented to the top player on his 50th Test appearance by Pakistan captain @shani_official 🧢🤝#AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/5fvE5CyMsv
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) December 14, 2023
Referring to Babar’s decorated international career thus far, Shan Masood said how the current Pakistani players have grown under his leadership and guidance over the past few years. The heartwarming words received a big round of applause from the other people present in the dressing room. Before signing off, Masood expressed his desire to see Babar play 100 Test matches for Pakistan in the future.
A generational talent from Pakistan, Babar Azam played his first international Test against West Indies in October 2016, more than one year after his ODI debut. Babar was able to raise eyebrows when he featured at the 2010 Under-19 World Cup as a 15-year-old. Two years later, he came back to the same tournament as the skipper of the Pakistan side and wrapped up the campaign as the top-scorer for his team.
Back then, people were hardly aware of Babar’s capability of playing red-ball cricket. Despite a successful debut against West Indies, Babar struggled to showcase his A-game bouncy tracks of Australia in late 2016 and early 2017. But with time, the right-handed batter went on to become one of the most trusted names in Pakistan’s top order.
In his 49 Tests, Babar Azam has racked up a total of 3,772 runs at an exceptional batting average of 47.75. He has slammed 9 tons and 26 half-centuries in the longest format. Babar served the role of Pakistan’s Test captain for nearly three years before passing the baton to Shan Masood after the ICC ODI World Cup last month.
Speaking about the ongoing Perth Test, Australia won the toss and elected to bat first. At the time of writing, the hosts were batting at 190 runs, with David Warner notching an unbeaten century.