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Mohammad Babar Azam (Template:Lang-ur; born 15 October 1994) is an international Pakistani cricketer who plays in all three formats for Pakistan. He captained the Pakistan Under-19 cricket team at the 2012 ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup. Azam jointly holds the record for the fastest batsman to reach 1000 ODI runs. He is regarded as one of the best batsman in world. He holds the record of scoring most runs after first 25 ODI Innings by any batsman in the world. He also holds the record of most runs after first 33 ODI innings and fastest to 7 centuries in ODIs which he achieved in his 33rd one day international match against Sri Lanka in 2017. He is currently ranked 5th in ODI and 1st in T20I batsmen rankings as of 22 April 2018.

International career

Early career

In May 2015, Azam was included in the Pakistani ODI squad for home series against Zimbabwe. He made his ODI debut in the third ODI on 31 May and scored an impressive fifty scoring 54 runs off 60 balls. His impressive debut earned him a place in both Test and ODI squads selected for an away series against Sri Lanka. He couldn't get a chance in Test series. During the ODI series he could only score 37 runs in two matches that he played.

Azam was included in the squad for the away ODI series against Zimbabwe in September 2015 but was not given a chance to play in the series. Pakistan won the series 2–1.

In October, he was dropped from the Test squad without playing a Test. He was retained in the ODI squad for the home series against England. In the first ODI of the four match series he scored 62 not out with a strike rate of 100 which helped Pakistan win the match. He had scores of 4, 22 and 51 in next three matches respectively. He finished the series with 139 runs at an average of 46.33.

In January 2016, Pakistan toured New Zealand. In the first ODI match, Azam scored 62 runs off 76 balls. Pakistan lost the match by 70 runs. The second ODI match was abandoned due to heavy rain. In the third ODI, he scored a brilliant 83 off just 77 balls. Despite Pakistan losing the match and the series, Azam was much praised by cricket experts. He was the leading run scorer in the ODI series with 145 runs in 2 innings at an average of 72.50.

In the five-match ODI series against England in July, he batted in five games and only scored 122 runs. Besides the England series, Pakistan played two match ODI series against Ireland. Azam scored 29 runs in the first match with the other ODI abandoned due to rain. Pakistan won the series 1–0.

He made his Twenty20 International debut for Pakistan against England on 7 September. He scored an unbeaten 15 runs off 11 balls. Pakistan won the match and series.

Rise in shorter formats and breaking records

Azam was selected in the home series against the West Indies. In the first match of the ODI series he scored his maiden century, scoring 120 off 131 balls and winning his first man of the match award. In the second ODI he continued his excellent form, scoring another century, this time much quicker than the previous one, scoring 123 off 126 balls. His century enabled Pakistan to put a total over 330. Pakistan won the match and Babar got his second Man of the Match award. In the third and final ODI of the series Azam ended up scoring third consecutive century (117 from 106) and became the third batsman for Pakistan to score hundreds in three successive ODI innings. He also broke the record for scoring the most runs (360) in a three match ODI series. He became the only batsman to score 350+ runs in a three match ODI series.

He made his Test debut for Pakistan against the West Indies in Dubai on 13 October 2016 and scored 69 runs in his first innings. He was the first player to score a fifty on his Test debut through a day/night Test.

On 19 January 2017, in the third ODI against Australia, Azam became the joint-fastest player to score 1,000 runs in ODIs and the fastest for Pakistan in his 21st innings. He finished the ODI series as the leading run-scorer for Pakistan with 282 runs in 5 innings, including a century in 5th ODI.

Sarfaraz Ahmed replaced Azhar Ali as Pakistan's ODI team captain against the West Indies after Azhar Ali stepped down from the captaincy after a humiliating defeat against Australia. Azam was appointed vice-captain of the team on the back of his consistent performances in ODI format. He scored an unbeaten 125 in the 2nd ODI of the three–match ODI series at Providence Stadium, Guyana. Batting first, Pakistan was struggling at one stage and were 183 for 5. Azam along with Imad Wasim put on an unbeaten 99 runs partnership which helped Pakistan post a competitive total of 282 on the board. Meanwhile, Azam also broke the record of scoring the most runs after the first 25 ODI innings in this match. In the end Pakistan won the match easily. Azam for his match winning knock won the Man of the Match award. He had scores of 13 and 16 in first and third match of the series respectively. Pakistan won the ODI series 2-1.

In the Champions Trophy 2017, Azam scored a crucial 46 off 52 balls in the final match against India. Pakistan won the final match by 180 runs and lifted the Champions Trophy. It was first international tournament for Azam.

After a successful Champions trophy tour, ICC sent the World XI team in Pakistan where they played three T20I matches. Azam was the top runs-getter in the series, scoring 179. In the first T20I played at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore, he scored 86 playing only 52 balls in the first T20 in the series, and won the his first Man of the match award in T20I. Pakistan won the match by 20 runs. He had scores of 45 and 48 in the next two fixtures.

After a poor test series against Sri Lanka Azam came back strongly in the ODI series scoring consecutive centuries in first two ODIs of the five match series. In the second ODI he became the fastest batsman to score a 7th ODI century and the first batsman in ODI history to score five consecutive centuries in one country. He had scores of 30 and 69 (not out) in next two innings while chasing. He finished the series as the leading runs-scorer with 303 runs at an impressive average of 101. Pakistan whitewashed Sri Lanka (5-0).

He was the leading runs-scorer for Pakistan in 2017 in ODIs and T20Is with 872 and 352 runs respectively.

Pakistan's first assignment in 2018 was tour to New Zealand. Babar was an automatic selection in the odi team. However he could score only 0, 10, 8, 3, 10 across 5 innings, scoring only 31 runs at an average of 6.2 as Pakistan were whitewashed 5-0. But performed well in the T20I series as Pakistan went on to win the series 2-1. Babar was the leading run scorer with 109 runs. He had scores of 41, 50* and 18 in these T20Is. He became the no.1 T20I batsmen, the second to reach the feat after Misbah-ul-Haq, but soon slipped to no. 3 position. He regained no. 1 spot in the rankings after a successful series against West Indies, who were touring Pakistan after thirteen years. He finished the series with most runs and winning Man of the series award as well, scoring 165 runs at an average of 82.50 and a strike rate of 148.64. His best performance came in the second T20I where he scored an unbeaten 97 runs which won him Man of the match award. He scored 17 and 51 in 1st and 3rd T20I respectively. Pakistan won the series 3-0.

PSL career

Babar was bought by Islamabad United in the first edition of Pakistan Super League for US$ 25,000. During a group stage match he suffered a small injury which prevented him in taking any further part in the tournament. Before the 2017 PSL draft he moved to Karachi Kings from Islamabad United; he was bought for US$ 50,000. He performed well in the 2nd season, scoring 291 runs with an average of 32.33 and finishing the tournament as the second leading runs-scorer behind his cousin Kamran Akmal. He was retained by the Kings for the 3rd season in the 2018 PSL draft in the Diamond category, earning between US$70,000 to US$85,000. Babar was the third-highest runs-scorer in the season, leading runs-scorer from his team. Babar scored 402 runs in 11 innings with an average of 40.20 at a strike rate of over 122 with 5 fifties. His team finished 3rd in the season.

Records and achievements

Milestones

• Fastest Pakistani and joint fastest in the world to 1,000 ODIs runs.
• Fastest Pakistani and second fastest batsman in the world to reach 5th and 6th ODI hundreds.
• Fastest batsman in the world to reach 7th ODI hundred (33 innings).
• Second youngest cricketer to score three consecutive ODI hundreds.
• First batsman in ODI history to score 5 consecutive centuries in one country.
• Most runs (886) in first 18 ODIs innings by any batsman in the world.
• Most runs (1306) in first 25 ODIs innings by any batsman in the world.
• Most runs (432) in first 11 T20I innings by any batsman in the world.

Most runs in a calendar year / series

• Most ODI runs in 2016 by a Pakistani cricketer.
• Most ODI runs in 2017 by a Pakistani cricketer.
• Second most T20I runs in 2017 by any batsman and most by Pakistani cricketer.
• Most runs (360) scored in a three-match ODI series.
• Most runs in an ODI series against WI by a Pakistani cricketer.
• Most runs in a T20I series against WI by a Pakistani cricketer.
• Most runs (179) in a 3 match T20I series by a Pakistani cricketer and second most in the world.
• Most runs (179) scored by a Pakistani cricketer in a T20I bilateral series (3 matches).

Awards

• PCB's ODI Player of the year – 2017.
• ICC World ODI XI: 2017

References

1. "Babar Azam to lead Pakistan in U-19 World Cup". Cricinfo. 6 July 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
2. ^ Records | One-Day Internationals | Batting records | Fastest to 1000 runs | ESPN Cricinfo, Stats.espncricinfo.com, 2017-2-01. Retrieved 2017-2-01.
3. ^ Most runs after first 25 ODI Innings, Geo News, 2017-4-10. Retrieved 2017-4-11.
4. Babar breaks record of Most runs after first 33 ODI innings and fastest to 7 ODI centuries, The Frontierpost.com, 2017-10-16. Retrieved 2017-10-17.
5. "ICC ODI Batsmen ranking". Retrieved 20 October 2017.
6. "ICC T20I batsmen ranking". Retrieved 20 October 2017.
7. "Zimbabwe tour of Pakistan, 3rd ODI: Pakistan v Zimbabwe at Lahore, May 31, 2015". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
8. "Statistics / Statsguru / Babar Azam / One-Day Internationals". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
9. "Pakistan ODI squad against Zimbabwe for three match ODI series". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
10. "England vs Pakistan 1st ODI-ODI Series 2015–16". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
11. ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Babar Azam / One-Day Internationals / Innings List". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
12. "Pakistan Vs England ODI Leading runs scorer". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
13. "Pakistan VS New Zealand 1st ODI-Odi Series 2016". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
14. "New Zealand Vs Pakistan ODI series leading runs scorer". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
15. "Most runs / ODI series / Eng vs Pak /Stastics". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
16. "Pakistan tour of England and Ireland, Only T20I: England v Pakistan at Manchester, Sep 7, 2016". ESPNcricinfo. ESPN Sports Media. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
17. "Azam's maiden ton helps Pak take 1–0 lead in 3–match ODI series". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 30 September 2016.
18. "Most runs in a 3–match ODI series". howstat.com. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
19. "Hundreds in consecutive innings". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
20. "Babar Azam in elite company". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
21. "Stats: Most runs in a 3-match ODI series". 5 October 2016. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
22. "West Indies tour of United Arab Emirates, 1st Test: Pakistan v West Indies at Dubai (DSC), Oct 13–17, 2016". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
23. "Azam, Nawaz debut as Pakistan win toss". Daily Times. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
24. Sundararaman, Gaurav (19 January 2017). "The fastest to 1000 and 3000 ODI runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
25. "Pak V WI in WI 2016–17 / 2nd ODI". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 April 2017.
26. ^ "Statistics / Statsguru / Babar Azam / T20I Internationals / Innings List". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
27. "1st Match (D/N), Independence Cup at Lahore, Sep 12 2017". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 12 September 2017.
28. ^ "Fastest to nth ODI centuries". ckrao.wordpress.com. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
29. ^ "Five consecutive tons in the UAE for Babar Azam". ESPN Cricinfo. Retrieved 16 October 2017.
30. ^ "Records | One-Day Internationals | Batting records | Most runs in 2017 | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 18 December 2017.
31. ^ "Records | Twenty 20 Internationals | Batting records | Most runs in 2017 | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
32. "Babar Azam becomes second Pakistani to top ICC T20I rankings". SAMMA TV. 28 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2018.
33. "Babar Azam back on top with a bang in latest T20I rankings". Retrieved 4 April 2018.
34. "West Indies tour of Pakistan, 2nd T20I: Pakistan v West Indies at National Stadium, Karachi (NSK), 2nd April 2018". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 March 2018.
35. "Azam defends his T20 approach after missing out on century". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
36. "Sangakkara, Gayle join Karachi Kings for PSL 2017". GEO TV.
37. "Pakistan Super League, 2017 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. Retrieved 10 March 2017.
38. "HBL Pakistan Super League retentions finalised". www.psl-t20.com. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
39. "Pakistan Super League, 2018 / Records / Most runs". ESPNcricinfo. 25 March 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
40. "Fastest to first five ODIs Tons". Hindustan Times.
41. ^ Stats / Pakistan vs World XI / Record breaking series for Babar Azam, firstpost.com, 2017-9-16. Retrieved 2017-9-16.
42. "Records | One-Day Internationals | Batting records | Most runs in 2016 | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
43. "Most runs in a three-match ODI series". ESPN. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
44. "Records | One-Day Internationals | Batting records | Most runs in a ODIs series vs West Indies | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
45. "Records | T20I | Batting records | Most runs in a T20I series vs West Indies | ESPN Cricinfo". Stats.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 6 April 2017.
46. "Most runs in a 3-match T20I series". Howstat.com. Retrieved 22 September 2017.
47. "Sarfaraz bags outstanding player of the year at PCB awards 2017". Dawn News. 14 September 2017. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
48. "Men's ODI Team of the year". www.icc.cricket.com. Retrieved 18 January 2018.

External links

• Babar Azam at ESPNcricinfo
• Babar Azam interview with alrasub.com
• Babar Azam on Twitter
• "Five consecutive tons in the UAE for Babar Azam"

Template:ICC Team of the Year

Pakistan squads

v t e Pakistan squad – 2017 ICC Champions Trophy – Champions (1st title) 54 Sarfaraz Ahmed (c) & (wk) 19 Ahmed Shehzad 79 Azhar Ali 56 Babar Azam 41 Faheem Ashraf 39 Fakhar Zaman 32 Hasan Ali 9 Imad Wasim 83 Junaid Khan 5 Mohammad Amir 8 Mohammad Hafeez 89 Haris Sohail 29 Shadab Khan 18 Shoaib Malik 47 Wahab Riaz 15 Rumman Raees Coach: Mickey Arthur Haris Sohail was not initially in the squad, but was named as replacement for Umar Akmal. Rumman Raees was not initially in the squad, but was named as replacement for injured Wahab Riaz.

• 1994 births
• Living people
• Pakistani cricketers
• Pakistan Test cricketers
• Pakistan One Day International cricketers
• Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers
• Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited cricketers
• Cricketers from Lahore
• Islamabad Leopards cricketers
• Islamabad cricketers
• Lahore cricketers
• Lahore Eagles cricketers
• Islamabad United cricketers
• Karachi Kings cricketers
• Guyana Amazon Warriors cricketers