Babar Azam Profile, Stats, Career & Ranking | Everything You Need To Know About Babar

Profile:

Babar Azam (born 15 October 1994) is a premier Pakistani right-handed batsman and former captain who is considered one of the best players of the modern era. Known for his beautiful cover drive and consistent scoring, he has scored over 14,000 international runs with 31 centuries, often being ranked among the top batsmen in the ICC.

Babar Birthplace:

Lahore, Punjab

Batting Role:

Top-order batter

Babar Azam Debut:

ODI debut in 2015 vs Zimbabwe; T20I vs England in 2016; Test against West Indies in 2016.

Key Achievement Of Babar:

Former top-ranked ICC ODI batsman, with a total of 31 international centuries.

Azam Captaincy:

He led Pakistan in all formats, reaching the T20 World Cup final (2022), before retiring in 2023.

Babar Azam Domestic Career

The right-handed batsman came into the limelight during the Under-15 World Championship in 2008. He played in the Under-19 World Cup in the 2010 and 2012 editions and finished both tournaments as Pakistan’s highest run-scorer.

After a successful 2010 Junior World Cup, the young batsman made his domestic debut for the Agricultural Development Bank Limited, then played for the State Bank of Pakistan, and later joined Central Punjab.

The Lahore-born player has scored thousands of runs in the domestic arena and was hailed as a star even before he burst onto the international scene.

Babar ODI Career

In May 2015, the brilliant batsman Babar Azam was included in the team for the ODIs against Zimbabwe. It was a historic series, where international cricket returned to the country after the heartbreaking terrorist attack in 2009. On 31 May 2015, Babar scored a half-century on debut and never looked back.

Later, he impressed everyone with two consecutive half-centuries against New Zealand. In 2016, he scored three back-to-back centuries against the West Indies, leaving the entire cricketing fraternity in awe of his ‘share class’.

Fast forward to 2017, in the third ODI against Australia, Babar became one of the fastest Pakistani players to score 1000 runs in ODIs and T20Is, doing so in 21 innings and 26 innings respectively.

Babar was a part of the Pakistani team that won the 2017 Champions Trophy. He underperformed by his standards. However, the young batsman played a fluent innings of 46 runs in the final against India. He backed up his average outing in the ICC event with two centuries against Sri Lanka.

Babar was in astonishing form during the build-up to the 2019 World Cup and played brilliantly against New Zealand, South Africa and England. He also excelled in the World Cup, scoring 474 runs.

Babar’s dominance continued in the ODI series, where he broke records by becoming the fastest Asian to reach 4000 ODI runs (in 82 innings) and the fastest to 15 ODI centuries (in 83 innings).

Under his leadership, Pakistan achieved a historic feat by winning their first ODI series against Australia since 2002, further cementing Babar’s legacy as a leader and run machine.

He became the fastest batsman to reach 5,000 ODI runs, achieving the milestone in just 97 innings, leaving behind some of the game’s greats. His impressive form with the bat continued as he scored his 18th ODI century, setting another record for the fastest to reach the historic milestone.

Adding to his growing legacy as a leader, Babar led Pakistan to the No. 1 ODI ranking for the first time in 33 years, a historic achievement that underscored his impact as both a captain and a match-winner.

Azam T20I Career

Thanks to his brilliant performance in the ODIs, Babar Azam was called up for both Test and T20I matches. He made his T20I debut for Pakistan on September 7, 2016, against England in Manchester, scoring 15 runs without being put out in 11 balls.

This talented player shone brightly on the 2017 World XI tour of Pakistan. Playing in all three matches, Babar was the series’ top scorer with 179 runs.

In addition to his achievements in the longer formats, Babar has excelled in the T20I format and established himself as one of the best batsmen in the world. In October 2018, he reached number one in the ICC T20I rankings. Shortly after, in 2019, Babar became Pakistan’s captain, starting in the shorter format.

Meanwhile, he recorded his first century in T20I with a stunning 122-run performance against South Africa and cemented his legacy by becoming the fastest batsman to reach 2,000 runs in T20I, in just 52 innings.

Arriving at the grand stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup, Babar assumed the responsibility of leading Pakistan with remarkable composure. As team captain, he amassed 303 runs in the tournament, the most by any player that year, also setting a new record for most half-centurys (four) in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.

The Pakistani batsman reached another milestone in his illustrious career by taking to the field for his 100th T20I match. He celebrated the occasion in style, scoring his third T20I century—an elegant 101-run performance in 58 balls—becoming the first captain in history to record three centuries in T20I.

Babar Test Career

Making his Test debut on 13 October 2016, Babar Azam scored 69 runs in his first innings, becoming the first player to score a fifty on his Test debut in a Day/Night Test.

After a good start, Babar was exposed in Australia during the 2016–17 series, but Mickey Arthur (the then head coach) backed the future star.

His leadership and batting ability continued to shine in the longest format of the game, as he led Pakistan to a 2–0 Test series victory over Zimbabwe. His impressive start as captain saw him become the first Pakistani captain to win his first four Test matches, underlining his growing influence in the longest format.

Career Post Captaincy Of Babar Azam

After leading Pakistan in several formats, Babar Azam made the tough decision to step down as captain in November 2023, ending an era. The resignation came after Pakistan’s disappointing campaign in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, in which the team failed to advance beyond the group stage, drawing heavy criticism from fans and pundits.

In October 2024, Babar announced his resignation as Pakistan’s white-ball captain for the second time in less than a year, citing the need to reduce his workload and focus on his batting. His decision came after Pakistan’s early exit from the T20 World Cup in June 2024, where the team failed to advance beyond the group stage.

The musical chairs stint as Pakistan’s captain also resulted in Babar Azam’s decline in the format across all formats. This led to the stylish batsman losing his place in the shortest format. Meanwhile, Babar is reinventing himself in the ODI and Test formats as well.