Pakistani skipper Babar Azam has become the first Pakistani cricketer to score the most international runs in a year.
Babar Azam achieved the feat when he scored the 13th run of his innings against New Zealand in the first Test match being played at the National Bank Cricket Arena in Karachi. Azam has broken the record of former Pakistani batter Muhammad Yousuf when he scored 2,435 runs in 2006.
Babar Azam has scored 735 runs in T20, 679 in ODI, and over 1,000 runs in the red ball format of the game.
Kane Williamson to Babar Azam: Are you sure you're human? 🐐#PAKvNZ #CaptionThis pic.twitter.com/jSyPejavJz
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) December 26, 2022
https://twitter.com/AvinashArya09/status/1607271854309507076?s=20&t=_k46TRzuV75nSbFY2eJHUg
Just a week ago, Babar Azam became the only sixth Pakistani to score 1000 Test runs in a series against England. He reached the milestone on the third day of the Karachi test. Before him, Younus Khan achieved the feat twice before. Twitter is brimmed with an appreciation for Babar Azam for saving another day for Pakistan on the field. “No captain in world cricket has scored more fifty-plus scores in a calendar year than Babar Azam. Babar overtakes Ricky Ponting with his 25th fifty-plus score in 2022. Elite,” wrote sports journalist Farid Khan.
Read more: Babar Azam heckled as ‘Zimbabar’ at Multan Cricket Stadium
https://twitter.com/AvinashArya09/status/1607268481212506112?s=20&t=_k46TRzuV75nSbFY2eJHUg
https://twitter.com/AvinashArya09/status/1607305846979190785?s=20&t=_k46TRzuV75nSbFY2eJHUg
“STATS ALERT: Babar Azam breaks Ricky Ponting’s record for scoring the most fifty-plus score as a captain in a calendar year in international cricket. Ricky Ponting smashed 24 fifty-plus scores in 2005 and now Babar Azam has scored 25 fifty-plus scores this year. Badshah Babar” wrote Indian sports commentator Avinash Aryan.
Najam Sethi — "Babar Azam is a world-class player. He lives in our hearts. There will remain no charm in Pakistan Cricket Team in the absence of Babar Azam." #PAKvNZ
— Arfa Feroz Zake (@ArfaSays_) December 26, 2022
Babar Azam doesn't need 'Fab Four' ❌
He's the 'Only One' and the 'All-Fomat Great' 🐐 #PAKvNZ pic.twitter.com/KchePfE6lA
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) December 26, 2022
“Pakistan doesn’t have a strong batting lineup as We Indians have. But this man Babar Azam is a lone warrior. Every time and in every match, he is carrying the burden of hope of 22 crores’ excluding Wasay Habib Hutiya and other YouTubers. This Man is pure GENIUS,” said Avinash in his tweet.
PCB Chairman Najam Sethi appreciates Babar Azam and said that he is the heart of Pakistani cricket. “There will remain no charm in the Pakistan Cricket Team in the absence of Babar Azam,” said the new PCB Chairman.