Babar Azam becomes highest scoring Pakistani batter in all formats of a calendar year

Published
Skipper Babar Azam during the first day of the first Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi on Monday. — Pakistan Cricket Twitter
Skipper Babar Azam during the first day of the first Test match between Pakistan and New Zealand at the National Stadium in Karachi on Monday. — Pakistan Cricket Twitter

Babar Azam on Monday became the Pakistani batter with the most runs — 2,436 — in all formats of the game in a calendar year.

Babar broke the record of former captain and incumbent batting coach Mohammad Yousaf, who made the record in 2006 with 2,435 runs to his name.

The national team captain played 51 innings in 44 matches in 2022 and averaged 55.30, with his highest score being 196.

According to ESPNcricinfo, the skipper scored eight hundreds and 17 fifties in the outgoing year.

Babar claimed the record on the opening day of the first Test against New Zealand while he was on his way to a century. He led Pakistan’s recovery to 224-4 at tea, after New Zealand’s spinners made early inroads.

Despite the mountain of runs he has piled up this year, Babar’s tally — to which he can still add — was some way short of the world record held by Ricky Ponting, who amassed 2,833 runs in 2005.

Opinion

Editorial

Iran’s resilience
Updated 05 Jul, 2026

Iran’s resilience

THE funeral ceremonies for Iran’s assassinated supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and his family members, which...
The annual test
05 Jul, 2026

The annual test

PAKISTAN enters another monsoon season with little room for complacency. Last year’s rains claimed more than 1,000...
Dangerous syringes
05 Jul, 2026

Dangerous syringes

INNOCENCE stands overwhelmed by another health emergency. The HIV crisis, beyond surging statistics — over 350,000...
Agri-tax failure
Updated 04 Jul, 2026

Agri-tax failure

THE first year of Pakistan’s unified agriculture income tax regime has produced an outcome that should surprise no...
Deadly roads
04 Jul, 2026

Deadly roads

THE horrific bus crash at the Balochistan-KP border on Friday should prompt greater scrutiny of road safety ...
Terrorism numbers
04 Jul, 2026

Terrorism numbers

AS Pakistan continues to grapple with the menace of militancy, the number of terrorist attacks present a mixed...