Age: 15 October 1994, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Matches: 278
Runs: 14,231
Babar Azam was born on October 15, 1994. He is indeed one of the most elegant batsmen in recent cricket history; he is consistent and a right-hander top order player who combined technical brilliance with a calm manner that makes him a vital player for the Pakistan cricket team as well as widely admired by fans globally.
A cricketing career starts for Babar on the streets of Lahore. He started loving cricket on the streets of Lahore, and then his domestic cricket performance was of good quality with determination, which subsequently earned him a place in the national side. His first international match came in an ODI versus Zimbabwe on 31st May 2015, and gradually he became one of the most reliable batsmen in the world.
Among his career highlights, the back-to-back centuries Babar scored during the ODI series in 2016 against the West Indies established his status as a batting prodigy. He maintained his good performance time and again in ICC events and bilateral series, contributing a lot to Pakistan's victories.
Babar has registered many records in international cricket; he is also one of the fastest players to score 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals. He took Pakistan to a historical milestone and won the series from ICC tours, which bagged him various accolades as a captain.
He is among the few batsmen who can play anchor innings and make something out of even adverse conditions. He is a stalwart in the batting unit of Pakistan, a modern-day cricket legend with commendable skills and temperament that would inspire the newer generations.
2017:
ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year.
PCB's ODI Cricketer of the Year.
2018:
PCB's T20I Cricketer of the Year.
2019:
ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year.
2020:
Pakistan Super League Player of the Tournament.
ARY News Person of the Year.
2021:
ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year.
Captain of ICC Men's T20I and ODI Teams of the Year.
Captain of ICC Men's T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament.
ICC Player of the Month (April 2021).
PCB's ODI Cricketer of the Year.
2022:
ICC Cricketer of the Year (Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy).
ICC Men's ODI Cricketer of the Year.
Captain of ICC Men's ODI Team of the Year.
Named in ICC Men's Test Team of the Year.
ICC Player of the Month (March 2022).
2023:
Sitara-e-Imtiaz, becoming the youngest cricketer ever to receive it.
Third-fastest Pakistani to reach 1000 ODI runs (21 innings).
Joint-fastest Pakistani to reach 2000 ODI runs (45 innings, with Zaheer Abbas).
Second-fastest Asian batsman to reach 3000 ODI runs (68 innings).
Fastest player to score 5000 ODI runs (97 innings).
Holds the record for the most runs (1306) in the first 25 ODI innings.
The only cricketer to score 5 consecutive centuries in a single country (UAE).
Fastest batsman to score 7, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 18 ODI centuries.
Second-most ODI centuries for Pakistan (19), trailing Saeed Anwar's 20.
First cricketer to score 3 consecutive centuries twice in ODIs.
Fastest captain to reach 1000 ODI runs (13 innings).
Most runs in the 2021 T20 World Cup (303 runs).
Fastest to 1000 T20I runs (26 innings, in terms of time).
The highest scorer for Pakistan in a single World Cup (474 runs in 2019).
Fastest to 2000 and 2500 T20I runs.
First Pakistani captain to beat India in a World Cup match.
First Pakistani to win ICC ODI Cricketer of the Year, achieved twice.
Fastest Pakistani captain to score 158 in ODIs.
Among the few cricketers to score centuries in all three formats.
PSL’s all-time leading run-scorer and highest scorer in 2020 (473 runs) and 2021 (554 runs).
Youngest cricketer awarded Sitara-e-Imtiaz, Pakistan's third-highest civilian award (2023).