Babar Azam to bid farewell to Tests after Virat Kohli? Failing Pakistan star faces scrutiny

Should Babar Azam consider his retirement from Test cricket? The question started to rise when he lost his wicket for only 28 runs in the PAK vs SA 1st Test. Babar walked into the crease with huge expectations from the fans at the Gaddafi stadium. In return, the batter scored only 28 against 43 deliveries in the game in Lahore, another Test match for him without any hundred or fifty.

After the disappointing innings, former Pakistani batter Salman Butt questioned Babar's decision not to play in domestic cricket. The former international questioned, if Babar was not living up to the mark, then why has he not taken part in the domestic cricket?

The dismissal of Azam in the first innings of the ongoing Lahore Test match marked 34 months since he last scored a half-century at home. The right-handed batter scored the last Test hundred and fifty came way back in 2022. Since then, he has managed to score just one half century in 2024 and 2 in 2025. 

Read More: PAK vs SA 1st Test: 5 wickets in 17 runs, Pakistan humiliated on home ground

Should Babar Azam take retirement from Test cricket?

The former batter said that Babar was looking vulnerable in the first over he played. Acknowledging his fan following in Pakistan and his talent, Butt feels that Babar should take part in domestic cricket so that he can reduce the rustiness. 

"Babar does not even want to play first-class matches. That rustiness was evident. The players who played first-class came and scored runs. So why didn’t Babar play? The first over that he played today, he looked so vulnerable. It seemed like he would get out any time. It’s okay; he is a big player, and people love him, but you have to play domestic cricket. You can’t escape that. And you are not above that," Salman Butt opined.