Introduction
Mohammad Babar Azam, Born on October 15, 1994, is a premier cricket player from Pakistan who serves as the current captain for limited overs. In addition to leading Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL, he is ranked first in ODIs, fourth in T20Is, and third in Tests. He is the most successful T20I skipper with 45 victories, and he has the greatest T20I score of any Pakistani player (122). In addition to winning the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, he guided Pakistan to the top ODI rating. He left after the World Cup in 2023, but in March 2024, he was named white-ball captain once more.
Early life
Babar Azam was motivated to play cricket as a child by his older cousins Kamran and Umar Akmal. He was born in Lahore on October 15, 1994. He started his domestic career as a ball boy at Gaddafi Stadium before enrolling in a cricket academy. He joined the Pakistan U-19 squad after learning the foundations of batting from his first coach, Rana Sadiq.
International career
Early career
Babar Azam made his Pakistani debut in an ODI against Zimbabwe in May 2015, getting 54 runs. Later that year, he participated in the ODI series against Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka. He scored four hundred and ninety-nine runs in the home series against England in 2015. With 145 runs in two games during the ODI series against New Zealand in January 2016, he was the leading scorer. In September 2016, Babar played his first Twenty20 international match against England, scoring 15* in a victory. With 29 runs, he helped Pakistan win the ODI series against Ireland by a record 255 runs.
Rise in shorter formats and breaking records
Babar Azam broke the record with 360 runs in three straight One-Day International hundreds against the West Indies in 2016. With 69 runs, he made his Test debut in the same year. In 2017, he struck 125* against the West Indies to become the fastest Pakistani player to 1,000 ODI runs. In the World XI T20 series and the 2017 Champions Trophy, he performed admirably. Despite a dismal ODI series in New Zealand in 2018, he was able to reclaim the top rank among T20I batsmen. He made 184 runs against Zimbabwe and hit his first Test century against New Zealand following a wrist injury.
2019 Cricket World Cup
Babar Azam was added to Pakistan's Cricket World Cup roster in April 2019. He made his tournament debut as a top talent, according to the ICC. He signed a contract with Somerset for the T20 Blast in May. He amassed 277 runs in an ODI series against England prior to the World Cup. He got his tenth ODI century against New Zealand on June 26, making history as the fastest Pakistani to reach 3,000 runs in an ODI. With 474 runs in 8 innings, he also beat Javed Miandad's record for the most runs scored by a Pakistani in a single World Cup.
Test performances and leadership roles
Babar Azam took over as Pakistan's vice-captain for ODIs and T20Is in September 2019. With his century and career-best performances, he shone. In December 2022, he broke the 16-year-old record for the most runs a Pakistani batsman could score in a calendar year while serving as captain and leading Pakistan to series triumphs.
No. 1 ODI batsman
Mohammad Babar Azam broke Hashim Amla's record in April 2021 by being the fastest batter to score 13 ODI hundreds in his 76th innings. In the ODI rankings, he also took the top spot, breaking Virat Kohli's record after 1258 days.
2021–present
Mohammad Babar Azam became the fastest person to reach 2,000 runs in Twenty20 cricket when he hit his first T20I century in April of 2021. Regaining his top ranking in T20I rankings, he guided Pakistan to the semi-finals of the 2021 T20 World Cup. His record for most runs by a skipper in a Test fourth innings was broken in March 2022. He broke the record for the fastest player to 5,000 ODI runs in May 2023, propelling Pakistan to the top of the ODI rankings. Though he was reappointed in March 2024, Azam resigned as captain in November 2023.
Domestic and franchise cricket
In both domestic and international cricket, Babar Azam has caused waves. In 2019–20, he created records in the National T20 Cup and won the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy as captain of Central Punjab. He has played with both Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi in the Pakistan Super League, where he was the Karachi Kings' 2020 league champion. Along with dominating for Somerset in the T20 Blast, where he amassed over 5,000 T20 runs. He has also excelled in international tournaments such as the Caribbean Premier League and Bangladesh Premier League.
Records and achievements
With regard to cricket, Babar Azam has many records. As the fastest player to amass 5,000 ODI runs and 1,000 T20I runs, he is among the top scorers in ODI and T20I cricket. He's been Pakistan's highest scorer in ODIs and Tests on several occasions. He holds the record for most runs scored in a single World Cup. In addition, Babar has established records for most runs in a season and been a perennial top scorer in the Pakistan Super League. At 28, he is also Pakistan's youngest cricket player to win the Sitara-e-Imtiaz award.