Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam is set to take the field for the first time since stepping down from the captaincy role post the World Cup debacle. Pakistan are set to face Australia down under in the three-match Test series starting from December 14 in Perth. With no pressure of captaincy anymore, Babar will be key for the visitors with the bat.
The 29-year-old is on the cusp of a special record and is expected to make it in the first innings of the Perth Test itself. Babar Azam is only 14 runs away from completing 13000 runs in international cricket. He has so far scored 12986 runs in 270 matches at the international level with 31 centuries and 88 half-centuries at an average of 49.18. He will become only the fifth Pakistan batter in cricket to reach the milestone with Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Javed Miandad being the others.
Inzamam-ul-Haq has scored most runs for Pakistan in international cricket with 20580 runs to his name. In this aspect, Babar Azam is closest to Javed Miandad who scored 16213 runs at the international level during his illustrious career. In this aspect though, the former Pakistan skipper can go past India cricketer Sunil Gavaskar on Australia tour who amassed 13214 runs in his international career and needs 229 runs to go past him. Moreover, Babar also needs 228 runs to complete 4000 runs in Test cricket. He will also play his 50th Test in Perth and he would want to make it a memorable one.
Most runs for Pakistan in international cricket
| Players | Runs |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 20580 |
| Younis Khan | 17790 |
| Mohammad Yousuf | 17300 |
| Javed Miandad | 16213 |
| Babar Azam | 12986 |
Squad
Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
