During the current ODI tri-series on Sunday, veteran batsman Babar Azam made history by becoming the fifth player from Pakistan to reach 16000 runs in international cricket. In the first ODI of the tri-series against Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Babar became Pakistan’s third-fastest player to attain the milestone. England was the opposing team.
Babar has amassed 4,771 runs in 66 Tests and 4,596 runs in 145 T20 Internationals (T20Is), with over 6,500 runs in One-Day Internationals (ODIs). In addition, he has 111 half-centuries across formats and 32 international hundreds. With 20,541 runs in 495 games, Pakistan’s renowned hitter Inzamam-ul-Haq leads the list of the nation’s leading run scorers in international cricket. Younis Khan, a former captain who scored 17,790 runs in 408 international games, comes next.
Most International Runs for Pakistan
| Rank | Player | Total Runs |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Inzamam-ul-Haq | 20,541 |
| 2 | Younis Khan | 17,790 |
| 3 | Mohammad Yousuf | 17,134 |
| 4 | Javed Miandad | 16,213 |
| 5 | Babar Azam | 16,007* |
Against Sri Lanka, the former white-ball captain Babar reached the milestone. He needed just seven runs to attain the target going into the game, and he did so fairly swiftly throughout his innings. Interestingly, Virat Kohli of India became the fastest hitter to reach 16,000 international runs in his 350th innings. Following Sri Lanka’s dismissal of Pakistan, Babar was out to bat at number three when Dilshan Madushanka caught Saim Ayub at mid-off in the third over of the session.
Saad Baig, a rookie, scored nine runs off 11 balls, including two boundaries, while Babar Azam was undefeated on 27 off 34 deliveries after hitting four boundaries. For Sri Lanka, Dilshan Madushanka took both wickets, dismissing Fakhar Zaman for sixteen and Saim Ayub for seven.
