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83 innings without century! Babar Azam equals Virat Kohli's unfortunate legacy

Anurag Dasgupta

Babar Azam unwanted record [Source: AFP Photo] Babar Azam unwanted record [Source: AFP Photo]

Yet another ODI match, and yet another game where Babar Azam failed to deliver the goods for Pakistan. The star batter crumbled against South Africa in the three-match ODI series, but despite triple failures, the expectations were high for him in the Sri Lanka matches; however, the result remained the same.

With Saim Ayub departing early, Babar joined Fakhar Zaman at the crease, and he struggled for runs as he somehow reached 29 off 50 balls. But on the 51st delivery, Wanindu Hasaranga bowled a dream googly that cleaned him up. With another low score, Babar entered an unwanted list and has matched Virat Kohli’s unfortunate legacy in international cricket.

Babar equals Kohli's unwanted international feat

This was Babar’s 83rd international innings without a century as he equalled the Indian star in this feat. In his 84th innings, Kohli broke the drought, as Babar would love to do the same in the next ODI match against Sri Lanka.

Players
No. of innings without century
Sanath Jayasuriya88
Virat Kohli83
Babar Azam83*
Shivnarine Chanderpaul78

(Most Innings Without a Century)

  • Sri Lanka’s Sanath Jayasuriya tops the list as the opening batter went 88 innings without a century at the highest level. Babar and Kohli sit in the second position as Kohli didn’t score a ton for 83 innings, and the Pakistan star has now joined the India great in the same list.
  • Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the former West Indian player, occupies the third spot as he underwent 78 innings without an international hundred.

Babar Azam's poor run of form since August 2023

Babar last scored an international century against Nepal in the 2023 Asia Cup tournament. The milestone came in the month of August, and since then, the batter has been searching for the elusive ton to break the drought.

In 2024 and 2025, Babar failed to deliver the goods as runs dried up and the batter was removed from all format captaincy. Moreover, in 2025, Babar has struggled to score runs in the ODIs, as his average is languishing at just around 27.

Shubman Gill, the Indian batter, replaced him as the number one batter in the ODIs as Babar witnessed a slump in form and in his numbers.