Babar Azam is a Pakistani cricketer. As of 13 February 2024, he has played 52 Tests, 117 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and 109 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for Pakistan. He has scored centuries (100 or more runs in an innings) on 31 occasions, scoring 9 centuries in Tests, 19 in ODIs, and 3 in T20Is. In 2022, Babar Azam became the Pakistan batter with the most runs — 2,598 — in all formats of the game in a calendar year.
Babar has been praised by former English captains Michael Vaughan and Nasser Hussain. Vaughan, who led England to a memorable Ashes win over Australia in 2005, said he admires the way Babar plays.
"On a positive note … @babarazam258 is certainly one of the best Test players in the World … love the way he plays …," he said in a tweet. He has been named in the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year on three occasions, captaining it in 2021 and in 2022. In 2021 he also captained the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year. He was also captain of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament.
Azam made his Test debut in October 2016, and scored his first century two years later when he scored 127* against New Zealand at Dubai. His highest Test score of 196 came against Australia in March 2022; his innings included the highest-ever score by a captain in the fourth innings of a match and the second-longest innings by a batter in the fourth innings of a Test. Azam has scored Test centuries against five different opponents at five grounds, including three at grounds outside Pakistan.
Azam made his ODI debut in May 2015 and scored his first century in the format a year later in 2016, making 120 against the West Indies. This was followed by scores of 123 and 117, making him the third Pakistani batsman and eighth batsman overall to score three consecutive ODI hundreds. In 2022, he scored three consecutive ODI hundreds again, with two centuries against Australia and one against the West Indies, making him the first and so-far the only batter to do this on two occasions. His highest ODI score of 158 was made against England in July 2021. His ODI centuries, which were scored at thirteen venues, have come against seven different opponents. He became the fastest batsman to complete 5,000 one-day international runs during the fourth match against New Zealand in Karachi. In August 2023, he became the batsman to have scored the most runs after the first 100 ODI innings.
He made his T20I debut in September 2016 and has scored three centuries in the format, with the first one coming against South Africa at Centurion. His second century came against England at Karachi in September 2022, making him the only Pakistani to score more than one T20I century. His third century came on 15 April 2023 against New Zealand where he scored 101* on 58 balls, becoming the first player to score three T20I centuries as captain.
Key
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
* | Remained not out |
† | Man of the match |
‡ | Captained the Pakistan cricket team |
Pos. | Position in the batting order |
Inn. | The innings of the match |
Test | The number of the Test match played in that series |
S/R | Strike rate during the innings |
H/A/N | Venue was at home (Pakistan), away, or neutral |
Date | Date the match was held, or the starting date of match for Test matches |
Lost | The match was lost by Pakistan. |
Won | The match was won by Pakistan. |
Drawn | The match was drawn. |
(D/L) | The result was determined by the Duckworth–Lewis method. |
Test centuries
No. | Score | Against | Pos. | Inn. | Test | Venue | H/A/N | Date | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 127* | New Zealand | 6 | 1 | 2/3 | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | Neutral | 24 November 2018 | Won | |
2 | 104 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 1/2 | The Gabba, Brisbane | Away | 21 November 2019 | Lost | |
3 | 102* | Sri Lanka | 4 | 2 | 1/2 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | Home | 11 December 2019 | Drawn | |
4 | 100* | Sri Lanka | 4 | 3 | 2/2 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 19 December 2019 | Won | |
5 | 143 | Bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 1/2 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | Home | 7 February 2020 | Won | |
6 | 196 † ‡ | Australia | 4 | 4 | 2/3 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 12 March 2022 | Drawn | |
7 | 119 ‡ | Sri Lanka | 4 | 1 | 1/2 | Galle International Stadium, Galle | Away | 16 July 2022 | Won | |
8 | 136 ‡ | England | 4 | 2 | 1/3 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | Home | 1 December 2022 | Lost | |
9 | 161 ‡ | New Zealand | 4 | 1 | 1/2 | National Bank Cricket Arena, Karachi | Home | 26 December 2022 | Drawn |
One Day International centuries
No. | Score | Against | Pos. | Inn. | S/R | Venue | H/A/N | Date | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 120 † | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 91.60 | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | Neutral | 30 September 2016 | Won (D/L) | |
2 | 123 † | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 97.62 | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | Neutral | 2 October 2016 | Won | |
3 | 117 † | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 110.38 | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | Neutral | 5 October 2016 | Won | |
4 | 100 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 91.74 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Away | 26 January 2017 | Lost | |
5 | 125* † | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 94.70 | Providence Stadium, Providence | Away | 9 April 2017 | Won | |
6 | 103 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 78.63 | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | Neutral | 13 October 2017 | Won | |
7 | 101 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 75.94 | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | Neutral | 16 October 2017 | Won | |
8 | 106* † | Zimbabwe | 3 | 1 | 139.47 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo | Away | 22 July 2018 | Won | |
9 | 115 | England | 3 | 1 | 102.68 | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Away | 17 May 2019 | Lost | |
10 | 101* † | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 80.16 | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Neutral | 26 June 2019 | Won | |
11 | 115 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 109.52 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 30 September 2019 | Won | |
12 | 125 ‡ | Zimbabwe | 3 | 2 | 100.00 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | Home | 3 November 2020 | Tied | |
13 | 103 † ‡ | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 99.03 | Centurion, Centurion | Away | 2 April 2021 | Won | |
14 | 158 ‡ | England | 3 | 1 | 113.66 | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Away | 13 July 2021 | Lost | |
15 | 114 † ‡ | Australia | 3 | 2 | 137.34 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | Home | 31 March 2022 | Won | |
16 | 105* † ‡ | Australia | 3 | 2 | 91.30 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | Home | 2 April 2022 | Won | |
17 | 103 ‡ | West Indies | 3 | 2 | 96.26 | Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan | Home | 8 June 2022 | Won | |
18 | 107 † ‡ | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 91.45 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 5 May 2023 | Won | |
19 | 151 † ‡ | Nepal | 3 | 1 | 115.27 | Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan | Home | 30 August 2023 | Won |
T20I centuries
No. | Score | Against | Pos. | Inn. | S/R | Venue | H/A/N | Date | Result | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 122 † ‡ | South Africa | 1 | 2 | 206.77 | Centurion, Centurion | Away | 14 April 2021 | Won | |
2 | 110* † ‡ | England | 2 | 2 | 166.66 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 22 September 2022 | Won | |
3 | 101* † ‡ | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 174.13 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | Home | 15 April 2023 | Won |
Footnotes
- The record for the longest innings is held by Michael Atherton.
References
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