Shakeel is the better converter, narrowly over a career and decisively since 2023. Seven runs separated him from a fifth Test hundred at Rawalpindi on Tuesday, while Babar has gone almost four years without reaching three figures. Shakeel has turned four of his 16 scores above fifty into centuries, against nine of 44 for Babar, who has not added to his tally since December 2022. The gap widens sharply once the clock is set to the start of 2023, and Pakistan’s middle order shows why it matters.
Shakeel scored 93 from 199 deliveries, hitting nine fours, before Kusal Mendis took a catch on day two, off the bowling of Asitha Fernando. Ghazi Ghori shared a sixth-wicket stand of 96 with him, and Arafat Minhas a seventh-wicket stand of 44, which took Pakistan to a declaration on 434 for 9. His Test record now stands at 27 matches, 12 fifties and four hundreds.
He scored at 46.7 per 100 balls, under his career 50.6, which made the knock more patient than quick. That marks his third exit in the nineties, a tally Babar also holds, and came after a 97 in the Lord’s Test in August. Missing out twice within three months is the biggest blot on his record.
Define a fifty as any score from 50 to 99. By that measure, Shakeel has converted four of his 16 scores of fifty or more into centuries, while Babar has converted nine of 44. The rates are 25.0% and 20.5%, with career averages separated by under a run. The sample for Shakeel is small, so timing matters more than raw totals.
Before 2023, Babar converted nine of 35 such scores, about 26%, a marginally better rate than Shakeel. Since then he has none from nine: eight fifties across 39 innings up to mid-September, plus his 50 at Rawalpindi. Every innings Shakeel has played falls inside that window, which is why the later comparison is the fairer one.
At home, Shakeel averages 52.23, built from 1,358 runs, three hundreds and nine fifties. Away from Pakistan, the average drops to about 33.7 from 741 runs, with one hundred and three fifties. The conversion rate stays at 25% in both settings, which suggests the habit travels even when the runs do not. That gap of roughly 18.5 runs between home and away shows how much he leans on Pakistani surfaces.
Babar averages 50.45 over his career in Pakistan and 38.38 on the road, and he has two hundreds among 21 away scores of fifty or more, using figures from mid-2026. Between January 2023 and October 2025, his home average was only 18.40, the lowest of any specialist batter to score 200 runs.
Shakeel’s wickets tend to fall close to the target, and he has been dismissed between 90 and 99 on three occasions. Those near-misses cost him runs, but they also show he regularly reaches the zone where hundreds are made.
Babar’s pattern is different. Since December 2022, his highest score is 88, made at Port of Spain, a dozen short of three figures. One run of 18 innings brought nothing higher than 41, so the starts dried up as well as the conversions. Babar’s tally of 67 Tests includes 35 fifties and nine hundreds, but none of those hundreds came after December 2022.
Across this WTC cycle, Pakistan’s numbers five to seven have scored 24.64 per wicket, the poorest return among the competing nations. Next worst are South Africa, who sit more than four runs per wicket higher. Between mid-2022 and the end of 2024, the same positions produced just under 40 per wicket, which ranked second among all teams, so the slump is recent.
Pakistan needs batters who convert starts into large scores in exactly those positions. Shakeel has done it at home and abroad, while Babar has not managed it since 2022. On the Saud Shakeel vs Babar Azam Test conversion rate , the verdict goes to Shakeel: narrowly across a career, decisively since 2023.
Is Shakeel’s conversion record enough to make him Pakistan’s most reliable middle-order bat, or does Babar’s pedigree still count for more? Tell us in the comments.
How many centuries has Saud Shakeel hit in Tests?
He has four Test hundreds. His highest is 208 not out at Galle in 2023 against Sri Lanka, and he missed a fifth at Rawalpindi by seven runs.
What did Shakeel score in the opening Test against Sri Lanka?
He made 93 off 199 balls. That left him seven runs short of a fifth hundred, and Kusal Mendis took the catch off Asitha Fernando.
How many Test hundreds has Babar Azam made?
He has nine, the latest coming in December 2022. That was a 161 at Karachi in a Test with New Zealand, so he has waited close to four years since.
Who is Pakistan’s most reliable middle-order Test batter?
On conversion, the evidence points to Shakeel. Mohammad Rizwan also averaged more than 40 between December 2023 and May 2026, so he also belongs in that wider discussion.
When does the next Pakistan and Sri Lanka Test begin?
The second Test starts on 17 November at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Play runs to 21 November, with the first session beginning at 9:30 am local time.
Disclaimer: This blog post reflects the author’s personal insights and analysis. Readers are encouraged to consider the perspectives shared and draw their own conclusions.
