Photo via The Times of India

Babar Azam achieves historic milestone, joins Inzamam and Miandad in elite list

Pakistan’s Babar Azam scripted history on Sunday by becoming the fifth cricketer for his country to surpass 16,000 international runs, achieving the milestone during the opening ODI of a tri-series against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi. The right-handed batter, who made his debut in 2015, reached the landmark in just six deliveries of the fourth over, smashing a three off Asitha Fernando after coming to the crease following Saim Ayub’s dismissal.

Though he fell short of a half-century, scoring 45 before being dismissed by Eshan Malinga, his 16,000th run cemented his place alongside cricketing legends like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, and Javed Miandad—all of whom had previously crossed the milestone. Azam’s accomplishment came in his 355th international match, underscoring his consistency across formats over nearly a decade of elite performance.

Meanwhile, Inzamam remains Pakistan’s all-time leading run-scorer with 20,541 runs, while global records are held by India’s Sachin Tendulkar (34,357) and Virat Kohli (28,527).

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