Babar Azam has become only the third Pakistan captain to lead the national team in 150 international matches across all formats, joining Imran Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq in an exclusive group.

The milestone comes after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) reappointed the 31-year-old as Test captain, replacing Shan Masood ahead of Pakistan’s upcoming away series against the West Indies and England.

Babar has now captained Pakistan in 150 matches across Tests, One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals. Imran Khan remains at the top of the list with 187 matches, followed by Misbah with 151.

He is also second among Pakistan captains with the most international victories. Babar has recorded 84 wins, five fewer than Imran’s 89, while Misbah is third with 77 victories.

Overall, Pakistan have won 84, lost 51, tied two, drawn four and registered eight no-results under Babar’s leadership, giving him a win rate of 56 percent.

Wasim Akram is fourth on Pakistan’s all-format captaincy list with 134 matches, followed by Inzamam-ul-Haq with 119 and Sarfaraz Ahmed with 100.

Babar Azam returns to the Test captaincy after previously leading Pakistan in 22 matches between 2020 and 2023. During that period, the team won 10 Tests, lost seven and drew four, giving him a win percentage of 45.45.

Shan Masood took over the Test leadership before Pakistan’s tour of Australia in late 2023. Pakistan lost all three matches on that tour, while Masood ended his tenure with four wins and 12 defeats in 16 Tests, with a win percentage of 25.

Babar Azam’s captaincy career began in October 2019 when he was appointed Pakistan’s T20I captain. He took charge of the ODI side in May 2020 and became Test captain later that year.

His first spell as all-format captain ended in November 2023 following Pakistan’s disappointing campaign at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India.

The PCB brought him back as white-ball captain in March 2024, but he stepped down again in October of the same year to manage his workload and focus on his batting.

Across his two white-ball captaincy spells, Babar led Pakistan in 43 ODIs and secured 26 victories. He also became the country’s most-capped T20I captain, leading the side in 85 matches and winning 48.

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