Babar Azam

Babar Azam is a right-handed batsman and former Pakistan captain with 20 ODI centuries. That record tells you everything about the consistency and technical completeness of a batsman who has carried Pakistan's batting for the past five years with an elegance that makes representing 230 million people look effortless.

Babar's batting is a study in classical technique refined to its purest form. A right-handed batsman, his cover drive is the most photographed shot in contemporary cricket, a movement so precise in its footwork, weight transfer, and follow-through that it looks choreographed. His balance at the crease is extraordinary. His ability to play both pace and spin with equal authority separates him from specialists who dominate one but struggle with the other. He sits alongside Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, and Joe Root in the "Fab Four" of modern batting, and the debate about who ranks where within that group is one of cricket's favorite conversations.

Babar's T20 batting combines classical technique with modern strike rotation. He does not slog. He places. His ability to manipulate the field and accelerate through the middle overs without taking excessive risk makes him the most reliable T20 batsman in the world, even if critics occasionally argue that his strike rate should be higher in the format's most aggressive moments.

As former Pakistan captain across all formats, Babar led the team to the 2022 T20 World Cup Final and the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup. His captaincy divided opinion in Pakistani cricket, a space where consensus is rarer than a quiet crowd at Gaddafi Stadium, but his batting record as leader was exceptional and his commitment to the team was never questioned.

In 2026, Babar anchors the PSL 2026 from March 26 to May 3 at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, where the crowd treats every one of his cover drives as a collective spiritual experience. He then tours England for the Test series from August 19 to September 13, batting at Headingley, Lord's, and Edgbaston. Babar at Lord's, driving through the covers on the slope, is appointment viewing. Check whatisthetime.now/country/pakistan for Pakistani time during PSL or whatisthetime.now/country/united-kingdom for UK time during the England tour.