Babar Azam becomes fifth Pakistani player to achieve THIS landmark

FAISALABAD: Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam reached yet another career milestone on Saturday, becoming only the fifth player from the country to surpass 15,000 runs in international cricket.

The 31-year-old achieved the feat during the ongoing third and final ODI against South Africa at Iqbal Stadium, working a single off Bjorn Fortuin to move to 23.

The shot not only brought applause from the crowd but also took his overall tally to 15,000 international runs, an achievement that places him among Pakistan’s batting greats.

With this, Babar joins an illustrious list featuring Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, and Javed Miandad, the only other Pakistan batters to have reached the landmark.

Among them, Inzamam leads the charts with 20,541 runs across formats, followed by Younis (17,790), Yousuf (17,134), and Miandad (16,213).

Most international runs for Pakistan

• Inzamam-ul-Haq – 20541 runs in 547 innings

• Younis Khan – 17790 runs in 491 innings

• Mohammad Yousuf – 17134 runs in 426 innings

• Javed Miandad – 16213 in 407 innings

• Babar Azam – 15004 runs in 370 innings

Babar, having reached 15,004 runs in just 370 innings, has achieved this milestone faster than most of his predecessors, further underscoring his consistency across formats.

Babar’s milestone, however, came in a bittersweet moment as his innings was cut short on 27 off 32 balls. His knock included five boundaries.

When this report was filed, Pakistan were 120-2 in 22 overs, with opener Saim Ayub (74*) and wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan (17*) steering the chase.

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