Why South Africa Test Series Is Babar Azam's Last Chance To Redeem His Falling Career

Falling Test career of Babar Azam [Source: AFP Photo]

Babar Azam is having a horrendous 2025 with the bat as the Pakistan star had a miserable Champions Trophy campaign, and after a poor run in the T20Is, he was also dropped from the Asia Cup squad. Babar was omitted from the team due to his low strike-rate, and now the batter has time to redeem himself in the game’s longest format.

Ahead of the South Africa Test series at home, Babar was one of the few players who were named in the Pakistan training camp set to take place from Tuesday. He would certainly get a chance in the two-match series vs South Africa, but that could be his last chance, and here’s why he could be dropped from the red-ball squad in the near future.

1) Poor run in red-ball cricket

Babar Azam’s last Test century came in December 2022 against New Zealand, and since then, he has been eluded of a red-ball ton. Despite scoring a couple of fifties for Pakistan, he is yet to score a big knock and it has hampered Pakistan cricket.

(Babar in Tests since 2023)

• Not even a single score of 100-plus in the last three years, and the average has been hovering around the mid-20s. In the last three years, Babar has failed to deliver, and if he has one more poor Test outing vs South Africa, the selectors might look beyond him.

2) PCB has done it before, they can do it again

Up until last year, Babar was considered untouchable, and sacking him was next to impossible. However, 2025 has brought doomsday for him as the selectors didn’t shy away from taking harsh decisions, as Babar was removed from the T20I setup and was not included in the Asia Cup squad.

This showcases that PCB are now not afraid of droppoing him from the team, and if they can remove him from T20Is, the selectors can also remove him fron the Tests if the results don’t come vs South Africa.

3) The emergence of new stars

The Pakistan Asia Cup squad showcases that the selectors aren’t afraid of picking a young squad in T20Is. New stars have emerged in the T20I format, and it has helped the team to win the UAE tri-nation tournament. Even in Test cricket, Pakistan has Kamran Ghulam, who has showcased his skills, and if Babar has a poor home series against the Proteas, Pakistan does have his backups ready, and the former captain could be shown the exit door.

No longer they rely on Babar across any format, and Babar needs to score big to cement his place in the side.

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