Why is Pakistan batter Babar Azam so special?
Pakistan’s Babar Azam created history on Wednesday (June 8) as he became the first batsman to score three consecutive tons in ODIs.He scored 114 runs against West Indies in Multan, which was his third century in a row. This was his 17th ton in the 50-over format. His first two centuries where he scored 103 and 107 balls against Australia in Lahore.
Babar Azam also broke Virat Kohli’s record for being the fastest ODI captain to reach 1,000 runs.
At present, Babar is regarded as one of the finest batters in the world cricket. He is also the only batsman in the world to be in the top 5 rankings across all three formats.
He is ICC number one batsman in T20Is and ODIs.
He is the captain of Karachi Kings in the PSL and also captains Central Punjab in domestic cricket.
EARLY CAREER
Babar Azam began his journey in Lahore playing under the tutelage of Coach Mansoor Hameed who would train him the YuSlim cricket club. Babar initially struggled at the club but then once he started getting runs there was no stopping him. He used to leave his house at 10am in the morning with his cousins to Model Town in Lahore. Babar used to practise hard in the nets there.
Babar first featured on the international cricket arena at the age of 14 in ICC Under-15 World Championship in 2008. He played a good knock against America U-15, where he scored 165 of 140 balls.
INTERNATIONAL CAREER
Babar made his international debut in 2015, and in the first match only he had scored 54 off 60 balls. With this he had sealed his position in the Pakistan team in the Sri Lanka series.
He was included in the squad for away ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2015.
In the Champions Trophy 2017, Babar Azam scored 46 off 52 balls in the final match against India. Pakistan won that match.
In 2019, International Cricket Council (ICC) named him one of the five exciting talents making their World Cup debut.
In 40 Test matches, Babar has scored 2,851 runs at an average of 45.98. He has also played 87 ODIs and scored 4,364 runs at an average of 59.78. In T20Is, he has scored 2,686 at an average of 45.52.