Babar Azam is back as Pakistan’s Test captain, he led Peshawar Zalmi to the PSL 11 title, and he passed 16,000 international runs last month. Off the field, his net worth is usually estimated at about $5 million to $10 million. That is a wide range, and no major Pakistani outlet has published its own figure, so read it as a guide only.
Babar Azam at a glance
Born 15 October 1994, Lahore. Role: Pakistan Test captain since July 2026; plays ODIs; not in the current T20I side. PSL: Peshawar Zalmi (Platinum). Net worth: estimated $5m to $10m.
What we know about his earnings
PCB contract. Babar was put in Category B for 2025-26, after the PCB gave no player a Category A deal, as reported by Dawn and Express Tribune. Category B was reported at PKR 3 million a month. The 2026-27 contracts had not been announced as of mid-October, according to the Tribune, so his current category is not public.
PSL. Zalmi retained him in the Platinum category for PSL 11. ARY reported the retention price at PKR 70 million. He then had a huge season: 588 runs at 73.5 with two hundreds, according to Dawn, matching Fakhar Zaman’s record for runs in a single PSL season.
Overseas leagues. Desert Vipers bought him for $80,000 in the ILT20 Season 5 auction, Gulf News reported.
Brands. His bat deal is with CA Sports. Other brand names appear in net-worth pages, but many of those lists are old, so we have not repeated them as current deals.
| Estimate | Source | Date |
|---|---|---|
| About $10 million | CelebrityNetWorth | Jan 2024 |
| About $5 million | Jang English | Undated |
| About INR 41 crore (about $5m) | CricTracker, citing Zee News | Sep 2025 |
Captaincy: third time around
The PCB named Babar Test captain on 5 July 2026, replacing Shan Masood. It is his second spell as Test captain and his third spell leading a Pakistan side, counting the 2024 white-ball stint. His earlier Test record as captain was 10 wins, 6 defeats and 4 draws in 20 Tests. Shaheen Shah Afridi leads the ODI side, and Sahibzada Farhan is the new T20I captain, according to Al Jazeera.
He made 50 on day one of the Rawalpindi Test against Sri Lanka this week. The worrying number is 40 Test innings without a hundred, with the last one against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022, as Gulf News noted.
Career numbers
| Format | Matches | Runs | Hundreds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tests (before Rawalpindi) | 66 | 4,771 | 9 |
| ODIs | 148 | 6,744 | 20 |
| T20Is | 145 | 4,596 | 3 |
Figures from NewsBytes and Bol News, October and November 2026. He became the fifth Pakistani to pass 16,000 international runs on 18 October 2026.
Our take
The money story is simple: Babar earns far less than India’s top stars because Pakistan’s board contracts and the PSL pay far less than the BCCI and IPL. The cricket story is more interesting. His PSL form says the touch is still there. A Test hundred against Sri Lanka at home would end the drought and settle the captaincy debate for a while. For the World Cup, he is a lock in the ODI side, and we covered where he fits in our Pakistan World Cup 2027 guide.
FAQs
What is Babar Azam’s net worth?
Estimates range from about $5 million to $10 million. None is officially verified.
Is Babar Azam Pakistan captain?
Yes, in Tests, since July 2026. He is not ODI or T20I captain.
Which PSL team does Babar play for?
Peshawar Zalmi, whom he captained to the PSL 11 title in May 2026.
Sources
- Dawn: PCB central contracts 2025-26
- Express Tribune: Babar returns as captain for third time (Jul 2026)
- Dawn: PSL 11 season review (May 2026)
- Al Jazeera: Sahibzada Farhan named Pakistan T20 captain (Oct 2026)
- Gulf News: Babar eyes fresh start in Rawalpindi Test (Nov 2026)
- CricTracker: Babar Azam net worth (Sep 2025)
About this story. Written by the T20 Cricinfo desk from the sources listed above. Captaincy, PSL and contract facts were checked against Dawn, Express Tribune and Al Jazeera; net worth figures are unverified estimates from aggregator sites, and his 2026-27 PCB category is not public.
