Babar Azam’s wait for his 10th Test century has become one of the longest barren runs of his career.
The Pakistan batter last reached three figures in Test cricket on December 26, 2022, when he produced a superb 161 against New Zealand in Karachi. It was his ninth Test hundred and capped a remarkable year in which Babar scored 1,184 Test runs, including four centuries.
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Nearly four years later, the milestone remains out of reach.
Babar has now gone 17 Tests and 36 innings without a Test century, despite several occasions when he appeared set to end the drought.
The barren run began almost immediately after his 161. He scored 14 in the second innings of that New Zealand Test before making 24 and 27 in the second match in Karachi.
The 2023 tour of Sri Lanka brought scores of 13, 24 and 39. His struggles continued in Australia, where he registered 21, 14, 1, 41, 26 and 23 across three Tests.
2024: The pressure increases
Babar’s struggles became more pronounced in 2024. Against Bangladesh, he scored 0, 22, 31 and 11 across the two-Test series.
The home series against England offered another disappointing chapter. Babar managed only 30 in Multan, while Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique went on to score centuries.
He finally rediscovered some consistency during Pakistan’s tour of South Africa. Babar scored 50 in the first Test at Centurion, his first Test fifty since the 161 against New Zealand.
At Cape Town, he followed it with 58 in the first innings and 81 in the second, falling just 19 runs short of his 10th Test century.
2025: More runs, but no hundred
Babar carried that form into the start of 2025. Across the two-Test series against South Africa, he scored 193 runs, with a best of 81 and three fifties.
Yet the century continued to elude him. His highest Test score for the calendar year was 81.
2026: Another near-miss
The closest Babar came this year was against the West Indies. In the second Test at Port of Spain, he scored 88, needing only 12 more runs for his 10th century.
However, his innings ended in frustrating fashion when he was run out by Brandon King following a mix-up.
Babar had also scored 58 not out in the first Test chase. He finished the two-Test series with 193 runs, briefly returning to the ICC Test top 10.
Against Bangladesh before the England tour, he made 68 and 47, but again failed to convert his starts into a century.
England comeback falls flat
Babar missed Pakistan’s first Test against England at Headingley because of a finger injury. Pakistan suffered an innings-and-103-run defeat.
Returning at Lord’s, Babar was expected to make an impact. Instead, he scored just 8 in Pakistan’s first innings, caught by Jordan Cox off Josh Tongue as Pakistan were bowled out for 110.
In the second innings, chasing 389, Babar again fell cheaply. Jofra Archer’s pace and bounce forced an awkward shot, with the ball ballooning to Cox at third slip.
Babar was gone for 6.
Two innings, two low scores — and the wait for Test century No. 10 continues.
