Babar Azam (Source: AFP)
Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam reached a remarkable milestone in his career as he completed 15,000 runs in international cricket during the third ODI against South Africa at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad, on Saturday.
Babar Azam needed 23 runs to reach the mark before the match. He achieved this feat in the ninth over of Pakistan’s chase of a modest target of 144 runs. The stylish right-hander scored 27 runs before being run out while attempting a third run alongside Saim Ayub in the 11th over.
It is important to mention that with this record, Babar Azam has become only the fifth Pakistan player to complete 15,000 international runs. The has joined Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, and Javed Miandad in the prestigious list.
Most runs by Pakistan players in International cricket
- Inzamam-ul-Haq – 20541 runs in 495 matches
- Younis Khan – 17790 runs in 408 matches
- Mohammad Yousuf – 17134 runs in 374 matches
- Javed Miandad – 16213 runs in 357 matches
- Babar Azam – 15004 runs in 329 matches
The former Pakistan captain also joined an elite list to reach 15,000 runs across all three formats of the game (Tests, ODIs, and T20Is). The star player also joined Viv Richards, Mohammad Azharuddin, and Alastair Cook and many more in the list. He currently at the 44th rank in the overall list.
It is worth mentioning that the fastest to reach 15,000 international runs (by innings) is Virat Kohli (333 innings), followed by Hashim Amla (336 innings) and Viv Richards (344 innings). Babar Azam is the 5th fastest overall in this list as well.
Taking a look at Babar Azam's overall stats, he has played 329 matches and scored 15,004 runs at an impressive average of 45.46, including 31 centuries and 104 half-centuries, with a career-best score of 196.
In the ODI format, Babar has played 137 matches and made 6336 runs at an average of 53.24. In the longest format, he has played 61 matches for Pakistan and made 4366 runs at an average of 42.38. In T20Is, he has made 4302 runs in 131 matches.
