The Pakistan cricket team is currently playing a two-match Test series against the West Indies, under the captaincy of Babar Azam. While Pakistan is looking to draw the series with a win in the second and final match today, Azam is eyeing an elite list that includes legendary Pakistan captains like Misbah-ul-Haq and Imran Khan.
Currently, Azam holds the record of leading Pakistan in 149 international matches. Today in Port of Spain, on July 02, Azam will be leading Pakistan in the 150th international match, becoming the third only Pak captain to achieve the feat.
The 1992 ODI World Cup-winning legend Imran Khan tops the list, leading Pakistan in 187 international matches from 1982 to 1992. From 2008 to 2017, Misbah led in 151 matches for Pakistan. Either way, Babar stands third in the list with 140 matches under his captaincy so far.
Most matches as Pakistan's captain in international cricket
| Player | Total matches as captain | Tests as captain | ODIs as captain | T20Is as captain |
| Imran Khan | 187 | 48 | 139 | – |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | 151 | 56 | 87 | 8 |
| Babar Azam | 149 | 21 | 43 | 85 |
| Wasim Akram | 134 | 25 | 109 | – |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 119 | 31 | 87 | 1 |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed | 100 | 13 | 50 | 37 |
| Javed Miandad | 96 | 34 | 62 | – |
| Shahid Afridi | 82 | 1 | 38 | 43 |
| Waqar Younis | 79 | 17 | 62 | – |
| Shoaib Malik | 64 | 3 | 41 | 20 |
| Salman Ali Agha | 51 | – | 1 | 50 |
Babar Azam's rollercoaster journey as Pakistan captain
Babar Azam's captaincy journey has been one of the most eventful chapters in Pakistan cricket, featuring remarkable highs and repeated leadership changes. He became Pakistan's all-format captain between 2019 and 2020, guiding the team to historic milestones, including a maiden T20 World Cup win over India in 2021, the 2022 T20 World Cup final, and the No. 1 ODI ranking.
However, Pakistan's disappointing 2023 ODI World Cup campaign led to his resignation. Reappointed as white-ball captain in 2024, Babar stepped down again after another underwhelming T20 World Cup.
In July 2026, the PCB restored him as Test captain, entrusting him with rebuilding Pakistan's struggling red-ball side after a difficult World Test Championship cycle.