Babar Azam on the verge of achieving a major milestone for Pakistan

Pakistan's all-format captain, Babar Azam, is on the verge of achieving yet another goal, needing only 202 runs to reach 10,000 international runs across all formats.

He is the only player ranked among the top five in all three formats, being named ICC Men's 'ODI Cricketer of the Year' in 2021. In ODI and T20I cricket, Babar is ranked first, while he is ranked fourth in Test cricket.

Meanwhile, Babar sounded ecstatic to be playing the ODI series against West Indies in front of the Multan crowd. The 27-year-old believes that Pakistani fans will warmly welcome the return of international cricket.

"It is an exciting moment for me to lead Pakistan in Multan for this all-important series. Multan is home to passionate cricket fans, and it is great to be here. I am looking forward to the fans cheering the return of international cricket after a lengthy gap, and I am sure they will get to see some great cricket at the beautiful Multan Cricket Stadium," Babar informed the media ahead of the series. 

The Karachi Kings cricketer has scored 4,261 runs in 87 games for an average of 59.18, including 16 centuries and 18 half-centuries in ODIs. His highest individual score in the format is 158 against England, which also happens to be the highest by any Pakistan captain.

The Lahore-born is also the fastest batter to reach 16 ODI centuries in terms of innings (84). He also became the first Pakistan captain to score two consecutive centuries against Australia during the recent home series.

In the shortest format, the inform opener of the team has also performed well in T20I cricket. So far, the right-handed batter has played 40 Test matches, scoring 2,851 runs at a 45.98 average, including six centuries and 21 half-centuries. His best score in the format is 196 against Australia, which was named the best batting performance in the ICC World Test Championship 2021–2023.