Babar becomes only batter to end a year as top batsman thrice

KARACHI: Pakistan’s skipper and the current number 1 ODI and T20I batter, Babar Azam became the only batter to finish a year as the best T20I batter, thrice.

After having a fantastic year in T20Is, Pakistan’s captain – Babar, claimed a unique record to his name. The batter became the only batsman to top the ICC T20I batting rankings thrice at the end of each year.

Babar, who finished the years 2018, 19, and 21 as the top T20I batter, broke the record of his Indian and Australian counterparts, Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch respectively.

The two batters topped the batting rankings twice. Virat topped the rankings at the end of 2014 and 16, while Finch ended 2015 and 17 as the top batter in the shortest format. England’s Dawid Malan finished the year 2020 with number T20I batting ranking.

It is apropos to mention here that, Babar who was demoted to number three in the rankings followed by his poor run in the Bangladesh and West Indies series, regained his form in the third T20I against West Indies; scoring 79 off 52 balls. This brilliant performance helped Babar reclaiming the top spot in the T20I batting rankings.

Babar is currently the joint number one batter alongside the Englishman Malan.

READ: Babar Azam reclaims No.1 spot in ICC T20I batting rankings