Babar Azam is a Pakistani cricketer.[1] As of 13 February 2024[update], he has played 52 Tests, 117 One Day Internationals (ODIs), and 109 Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) for Pakistan.[2] 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.[2] In 2022, Babar Azam became the Pakistan batter with the most runs — 2,598 — in all formats of the game in a calendar year.[3]
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.[4] He has been named in the ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year on three occasions, captaining it in 2021 and in 2022.[5] In 2021 he also captained the ICC Men's T20I Team of the Year.[6] He was also captain of the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament.[7]
Azam made his Test debut in October 2016,[2] and scored his first century two years later when he scored 127* against New Zealand at Dubai.[8] His highest Test score of 196 came against Australia in March 2022;[9] 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.[a][11][12] Azam has scored Test centuries against five different opponents at five grounds, including three at grounds outside Pakistan.[13]
Azam made his ODI debut in May 2015[2] and scored his first century in the format a year later in 2016, making 120 against the West Indies.[14] 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.[15] 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.[16] His highest ODI score of 158 was made against England in July 2021.[17] His ODI centuries, which were scored at thirteen venues, have come against seven different opponents.[18] He became the fastest batsman to complete 5,000 one-day international runs during the fourth match against New Zealand in Karachi.[19] In August 2023, he became the batsman to have scored the most runs after the first 100 ODI innings.[20]
He made his T20I debut in September 2016 and has scored three centuries in the format,[21] with the first one coming against South Africa at Centurion.[22] His second century came against England at Karachi in September 2022, making him the only Pakistani to score more than one T20I century.[23] 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.[24]
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. |
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 | [26] |
2 | 104 | Australia | 5 | 3 | 1/2 | The Gabba, Brisbane | Away | 21 November 2019 | Lost | [27] |
3 | 102* | Sri Lanka | 4 | 2 | 1/2 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | Home | 11 December 2019 | Drawn | [28] |
4 | 100* | Sri Lanka | 4 | 3 | 2/2 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 19 December 2019 | Won | [29] |
5 | 143 | Bangladesh | 4 | 2 | 1/2 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | Home | 7 February 2020 | Won | [30] |
6 | 196 † ‡ | Australia | 4 | 4 | 2/3 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 12 March 2022 | Drawn | [31] |
7 | 119 ‡ | Sri Lanka | 4 | 1 | 1/2 | Galle International Stadium, Galle | Away | 16 July 2022 | Won | [32] |
8 | 136 ‡ | England | 4 | 2 | 1/3 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | Home | 1 December 2022 | Lost | [33] |
9 | 161 ‡ | New Zealand | 4 | 1 | 1/2 | National Bank Cricket Arena, Karachi | Home | 26 December 2022 | Drawn | [34] |
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) | [36] |
2 | 123 † | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 97.62 | Sharjah Cricket Stadium, Sharjah | Neutral | 2 October 2016 | Won | [37] |
3 | 117 † | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 110.38 | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | Neutral | 5 October 2016 | Won | [38] |
4 | 100 | Australia | 3 | 2 | 91.74 | Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Away | 26 January 2017 | Lost | [39] |
5 | 125* † | West Indies | 3 | 1 | 94.70 | Providence Stadium, Providence | Away | 9 April 2017 | Won | [40] |
6 | 103 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 78.63 | Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai | Neutral | 13 October 2017 | Won | [41] |
7 | 101 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 75.94 | Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi | Neutral | 16 October 2017 | Won | [42] |
8 | 106* † | Zimbabwe | 3 | 1 | 139.47 | Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo | Away | 22 July 2018 | Won | [43] |
9 | 115 | England | 3 | 1 | 102.68 | Trent Bridge, Nottingham | Away | 17 May 2019 | Lost | [44] |
10 | 101* † | New Zealand | 3 | 2 | 80.16 | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Neutral | 26 June 2019 | Won | [45] |
11 | 115 | Sri Lanka | 3 | 1 | 109.52 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 30 September 2019 | Won | [46] |
12 | 125 ‡ | Zimbabwe | 3 | 2 | 100.00 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi | Home | 3 November 2020 | Tied | [47] |
13 | 103 † ‡ | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 99.03 | Centurion, Centurion | Away | 2 April 2021 | Won | [48] |
14 | 158 ‡ | England | 3 | 1 | 113.66 | Edgbaston, Birmingham | Away | 13 July 2021 | Lost | [49] |
15 | 114 † ‡ | Australia | 3 | 2 | 137.34 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | Home | 31 March 2022 | Won | [50] |
16 | 105* † ‡ | Australia | 3 | 2 | 91.30 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | Home | 2 April 2022 | Won | [51] |
17 | 103 ‡ | West Indies | 3 | 2 | 96.26 | Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan | Home | 8 June 2022 | Won | [52] |
18 | 107 † ‡ | New Zealand | 3 | 1 | 91.45 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 5 May 2023 | Won | [53] |
19 | 151 † ‡ | Nepal | 3 | 1 | 115.27 | Multan Cricket Stadium, Multan | Home | 30 August 2023 | Won | [54] |
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 | [56] |
2 | 110* † ‡ | England | 2 | 2 | 166.66 | National Stadium, Karachi | Home | 22 September 2022 | Won | [57] |
3 | 101* † ‡ | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 174.13 | Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore | Home | 15 April 2023 | Won | [58] |