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

Published December 26, 2022
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

X post facto
Updated 19 Apr, 2024

X post facto

Our decision-makers should realise the harm they are causing.
Insufficient inquiry
19 Apr, 2024

Insufficient inquiry

UNLESS the state is honest about the mistakes its functionaries have made, we will be doomed to repeat our follies....
Melting glaciers
19 Apr, 2024

Melting glaciers

AFTER several rain-related deaths in KP in recent days, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority has sprung into...
IMF’s projections
Updated 18 Apr, 2024

IMF’s projections

The problems are well-known and the country is aware of what is needed to stabilise the economy; the challenge is follow-through and implementation.
Hepatitis crisis
18 Apr, 2024

Hepatitis crisis

THE sheer scale of the crisis is staggering. A new WHO report flags Pakistan as the country with the highest number...
Never-ending suffering
18 Apr, 2024

Never-ending suffering

OVER the weekend, the world witnessed an intense spectacle when Iran launched its drone-and-missile barrage against...