1,300 days, 36 innings, no hundred: How Babar Azam’s Test century drought became a long-running story

For a batsman who once seemed to make Test hundreds almost on demand, Babar Azam’s wait for another three-figure score has become unusually long. Babar’s last Test century came on 26 December 2022 when he made a brilliant 161 against New Zealand in Karachi. The innings was his ninth Test hundred and capped off a remarkable 2022 in which he scored 1,184 Test runs, including four centuries.Since then, the Pakistan captain has gone 17 Tests and 36 innings without reaching 100. The drought has spanned home series, overseas tours, changes in the captain’s chair and a string of scores that suggested a century was always around the corner but never quite arrived.And England’s latest series has added another chapter. It started right after 161The century drought effectively began in the very next innings after Babar’s 161. He was dismissed for 14 in the second innings of the New Zealand Test before making 24 and 27 in the second Test in Karachi. The 2023 tour of Sri Lanka produced scores of 13, 24 and 39, while the subsequent tour of Australia produced 21, 14, 1, 41, 26 and 23 in three Tests.41 in Melbourne was his highest Test score of the period at the time, but it was another innings that ended before he could build a substantial score.

2024: Drought turns into crisis

Babar’s innings became even more remarkable in 2024. Against Bangladesh he managed 0, 22, 31 and 11 in the two Tests. Then came the home series against England where he made just 30 in the first Test at Multan. He was dismissed LBW by Chris Woakes on a pitch where Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique scored centuries.The 30 extended his run in innings without a Test fifty. His fortunes changed definitively in South Africa at the end of the year. Babar scored 50 in the first Test in Centurion, his first Test fifty since 161 against New Zealand, before going one better in the second Test in Cape Town.There he made 58 in the first innings and 81 in the second, falling 19 runs short of what would have been his 10th Test century.

2025: We’re getting close, but never close enough

Babar started 2025 with that 81 against South Africa as one of the highlights of the year. He made 193 runs in the two-Test series, with a best of 81 and three fifties, but still no centuries. The pattern continued for the rest of the year. His Test figures for the calendar year were significantly better than in 2023 and 2024, but a hundred remained elusive. His best score in 2025 was 81.

2026: Biggest missed chance – 88 against West Indies

In the second Test in Port of Spain, Babar made 88, falling just 12 short of the milestone. He was eventually run out by Brandon King after a mix-up, ending another promising attempt at his 10th Test century. Earlier in the series, he also made 58 not out in the first Test drive, but Pakistan lost by 90 runs.Babar’s 193 runs in the West Indies two-Test series, including 88 and an unbeaten 24, briefly brought him back into the ICC’s top 10 Tests. Yet the century still refused to come.

Bangladesh offered another opening

Before the England tour, Babar also scored 68 and 47 in the two-Test series against Bangladesh. The sixty-eighth was another useful contribution, but again he failed to convert the start to a hundred, almost four years short of his Test record.

England: Injury, comeback and another setback

Babar missed the first Test against England at Headingley after suffering a finger injury. Pakistan lost by an innings and 103 runs. He returned for the second Test at Lord’s after declaring himself 90 per cent fit.However, the comeback has not yet brought the response Pakistan wanted. In Pakistan’s first innings at Lord’s, Babar was dismissed for 8, caught by Jordan Cox off Josh Tongue as Pakistan collapsed to 110 all out.Chasing 389 in the second innings, Pakistan again lost Babar early. Jofra Archer’s pace and bounce forced a nasty shot, with the ball coming to Jordan Cox at third slip. Babar departed for just 6.Two shifts. Two low scores. Still no century.