Mohammad Babar Azam was born on October 15, 1994, in Lahore, Punjab. At 29 years and 340 days old, he has established himself as a key figure in Pakistan cricket. Babar is a right-handed batsman known for his consistent performances, and he occasionally bowls right-arm offbreak. His primary role in the team is as a batter. Babar comes from a cricketing family, with strong ties to the sport. His cousins, Adnan Akmal, Kamran Akmal, and Umar Akmal, have all played for Pakistan, further highlighting the cricketing legacy within the family.
Babar Azam is a right-handed, top-order batsman known for his calm and disciplined approach. He secured a long-term spot in Pakistan’s batting line-up in 2016, when he scored three back-to-back ODI centuries against West Indies in the UAE. In the same year, he made 90 runs in just his third Test match in Hamilton. At the time, Babar was only 22 years old.
Born in Lahore, Babar is a first cousin of the Akmal brothers, who also played for Pakistan. He started his journey in cricket by playing in an under-15 world championship in 2008. Babar then represented Pakistan in two Under-19 World Cups, in 2010 and 2012, where he was the team’s highest run-scorer.
Kamran Akmal, one of his cousins, mentioned, “We didn’t need to guide him much; he managed things on his own, but we supported him all the way.” Babar consistently topped the run-scoring charts in age-group cricket before being called up to the national team in 2015. He made his debut in an ODI series at home against Zimbabwe, during a time when Pakistan wasn’t hosting many international matches due to security concerns.
His three consecutive ODI centuries against West Indies earned him a spot in the Test team as well. Babar was given the chance to solidify his position as legends like Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq were nearing the end of their careers.
Babar didn’t just take this opportunity – he excelled. Over the next few years, he became Pakistan’s best batsman, the most famous cricketer in the country, and one of the top batsmen worldwide. Even with many years ahead in his career, Babar is already considered one of Pakistan’s greatest players.
He became the second fastest player to reach 2000 runs in ODIs and the second quickest to 1000 runs in T20 Internationals. He has more ODI centuries than all but two Pakistani batsmen and scored a memorable World Cup hundred against New Zealand in a crucial match, considered one of Pakistan’s greatest individual ODI performances. Though his Test career started slower than his white-ball career, he has steadily improved and is now ranked among the best Test batsmen since 2018.
While some players of his generation have struggled after a few years, Babar has remained strong, much to Pakistan’s relief. He was named captain of the T20I and ODI teams in 2019 and later became the Test captain in 2021. Despite the added responsibility, his form has not suffered.
Though he isn’t yet known as a deep thinker of the game, Babar is showing early signs of modern and progressive captaincy. He is learning on the job, and even though a lot of pressure is placed on his young shoulders, he seems to handle it well without feeling the strain.
Here’s a table listing the teams:
| Team Name |
|---|
| Pakistan |
| Balochistan |
| Central Punjab |
| Colombo Strikers |
| Faisalabad and Rawalpindi |
| Guyana Amazon Warriors |
| Islamabad |
| Islamabad Region |
| Islamabad United |
| Karachi Kings |
| Lahore |
| Lahore Blues |
| Leopards |
| Pakistan A |
| Pakistan Cricket Board Blues |
| Pakistan Under-15s |
| Pakistan Under-19s |
| Pakistan Under-23s |
| Peshawar Zalmi |
| Punjab (Pakistan) |
| Rangpur Riders |
| Rawalpindi Rams |
| Somerset |
| State Bank of Pakistan |
| Sui Southern Gas Corporation |
| Sydney Sixers |
| Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited |
Batting & Fielding Stats
| Format | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 54 | 98 | 9 | 3962 | 196 | 44.51 | 7252 | 54.63 | 9 | 26 | 459 | 23 | 41 | 0 |
| ODIs | 117 | 114 | 13 | 5729 | 158 | 56.72 | 6455 | 88.75 | 19 | 32 | 520 | 60 | 50 | 0 |
| T20Is | 123 | 116 | 15 | 4145 | 122 | 41.03 | 3211 | 129.08 | 3 | 36 | 440 | 72 | 50 | 0 |
| FC | 91 | 153 | 14 | 6014 | 266 | 43.26 | 10832 | 55.52 | 12 | 38 | 733 | 35 | 63 | 0 |
| List A | 183 | 179 | 20 | 8766 | 158 | 55.13 | 10086 | 86.91 | 29 | 51 | 828 | 74 | 79 | 0 |
| T20s | 304 | 293 | 44 | 10942 | 122 | 43.94 | 8462 | 129.30 | 11 | 90 | 1153 | 206 | 140 | 0 |
Bowling Stats
| Format | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tests | 54 | 8 | 90 | 42 | 2 | 1/1 | 1/2 | 21.00 | 2.80 | 45.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| ODIs | 117 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| T20Is | 123 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| FC | 91 | 28 | 816 | 466 | 7 | 1/1 | 1/2 | 66.57 | 3.42 | 116.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| List A | 183 | 29 | 633 | 555 | 12 | 2/20 | 2/20 | 46.25 | 5.26 | 52.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| T20s | 304 | 5 | 78 | 85 | 4 | 2/20 | 2/20 | 21.25 | 6.53 | 19.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
T20 Tournament Stats
Batting & Fielding
| Tournament | Teams | Mat | Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Ave | BF | SR | 100s | 50s | 4s | 6s | Ct | St |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSL | 3 teams | 90 | 88 | 11 | 3504 | 115 | 45.50 | 2750 | 127.41 | 2 | 33 | 386 | 58 | 47 | 0 |
| BPL | 2 teams | 11 | 10 | 1 | 368 | 62 | 40.88 | 312 | 117.94 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| LPL | CLS | 8 | 8 | 0 | 261 | 104 | 32.62 | 197 | 132.48 | 1 | 1 | 25 | 7 | 4 | 0 |
| Vitality Blast | SOM | 20 | 20 | 3 | 796 | 114* | 46.82 | 545 | 146.05 | 2 | 4 | 79 | 21 | 11 | 0 |
| CPL | GAW | 5 | 5 | 0 | 79 | 23 | 15.80 | 95 | 83.15 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
Bowling
| Tournament | Teams | Mat | Inns | Balls | Runs | Wkts | BBI | BBM | Ave | Econ | SR | 4w | 5w | 10w |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSL | 3 teams | 90 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| BPL | 2 teams | 11 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| LPL | CLS | 8 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| Vitality Blast | SOM | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| CPL | GAW | 5 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
