Pakistan have turned back to Babar Azam in Test cricket, naming him captain for the upcoming tours of the West Indies and England, marking one of the most significant leadership resets in their red-ball set-up in recent years.
The Pakistan Men’s National Selection Committee announced the squads during a press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on Sunday, July 5. Pakistan will play two Tests against the West Indies from July 25 to August 6, followed by a three-match Test series in England from August 19 to September 13.
Babar’s return as Test captain comes almost three years after he last led Pakistan in the longest format. His previous Test as captain came against Sri Lanka in Colombo in July 2023, where Pakistan won by an innings and 222 runs. If he walks out as captain in the first Test against the West Indies at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on July 25, it will be 1,094 days since the end of his last Test in charge.
The appointment completes a dramatic circle in Babar’s captaincy career. After Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup, he stepped down as captain across formats in November 2023. Shan Masood was then appointed Pakistan’s Test captain, but the period that followed brought instability, poor results and constant scrutiny over Pakistan’s red-ball direction.
Babar returns after Shan Masood experiment ends
Shan’s tenure began with a difficult tour of Australia and never truly found sustained momentum. Pakistan’s Test cricket during the period was marked by inconsistent selections, changing combinations, heavy pressure on senior players and a results graph that failed to convince. Shan has retained his place in the squad as a specialist batter, but the captaincy has now gone back to Babar, underlining the selectors’ decision to reset the leadership structure before two challenging away assignments.
Babar’s own journey between his exit and return was far from straightforward. He was brought back as Pakistan’s white-ball captain in 2024, resigned from that role again later in the year to focus on his batting, and also went through a difficult phase in Test cricket. That makes this decision more than a routine captaincy appointment. It is a return to authority for Pakistan’s biggest batting name after a phase in which he moved from all-format leader to former captain, from white-ball recall to another resignation, and now back to the top of the Test set-up.
Pakistan have named a 16-member squad for the West Indies series, with Babar leading a group that includes Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam ul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.
For the England series, Pakistan have announced a 17-member squad. Saud Shakeel has been added as the extra member, subject to fitness, while the rest of the squad remains unchanged from the West Indies tour.
The squad also carries a clear transition signal. Left-arm spinner Ali Usman, right-handed batter Muhammad Awais Zafar, right-arm fast bowler Ubaid Shah and wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori are the uncapped Test players in the group. The pace options include Mohammad Abbas, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Aamir Jamal and Ubaid Shah, while Sajid Khan and Ali Usman form the spin department.
Pakistan’s West Indies tour begins with the first Test at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba from July 25 to 29. The second Test will be played at Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain from August 2 to 6.
The England series will open at Leeds from August 19 to 23, before the second Test at Lord’s from August 27 to 31. The third and final Test will be played in Birmingham from September 9 to 13.
For Pakistan, this is not merely a squad announcement. It is the reopening of the Babar Azam captaincy chapter in Test cricket after a turbulent three-year gap. The West Indies series will mark the beginning of his second stint, but the sterner examination will come in England, where Pakistan’s red-ball reset will be tested against one of the toughest assignments in world cricket.
