In recent years, Babar Azam has experienced a remarkable rise in the cricketing world. Widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen of the modern era, the right-handed cricketer from Pakistan has garnered immense praise from fans, experts, and fellow players alike. Before delving into Babar Azam’s statistics, career highlights, and net worth, let’s take a closer look at the player himself.
Born and raised in Lahore, Azam developed a passion for cricket by watching his cousins, Kamran and Umar Akmal, excel on the international stage. He was coached by Rana Sadiq, who taught him the fundamentals of the game, paving the way for his entry into Pakistan’s Under-19 setup.
At the peak of his career, Babar Azam currently occupies the top spot in the ICC Men’s One Day International (ODI) Batting Rankings. In addition to his ODI success, he ranks among the top five batsmen globally in both Test cricket and Twenty20 Internationals, sitting fourth in each format.
Beyond his impressive batting skills, Azam is highly regarded for his leadership abilities. Under his captaincy, the Pakistani cricket team reached the semi-finals of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021 and advanced to the finals in 2022. With 47 wins as Pakistan’s T20I captain, Azam is the most successful captain in the shortest format of the game.
An overview of Babar Azam’s stats and career highlights
Babar Azam made his debut in international cricket in an ODI match against Zimbabwe on 31 May 2015. At his home ground in Lahore, he scored a half-century on his debut (54 runs of 60 deliveries) and earned his place in the Test and ODI series against Sri Lanka. While he did not make it to the playing 11 for the Test matches of the Sri Lanka tour, he did play in the ODI series. Later in 2015, Azam scored another half-century, this time against England, as he guided Pakistan to a win.
In 2016, Azam emerged as the leading run scorer in an ODI series against New Zealand as he scored 145 runs in two innings at an average of 72.50. Later that year, the Pakistani cricketer notched up his maiden century in international cricket as he played a knock of 120 runs of 131 balls against West Indies in an ODI match. Azam scored two more centuries in as many matches and ended the series with 360 runs to his name. With this exceptional run of form against the West Indies, Azam created the record of becoming the only batsman in history to amass over 350 runs in a three-match ODI series.
After his success in the ODI series, Azam made his Test cricket debut against the West Indies in October 2016. He scored 69 runs in his first innings, becoming the first player to achieve a half-century on his Test debut in a day/night match.
Babar Azam’s rise in limited-overs cricket
In January 2017, Babar Azam became the then-fastest batsman in the history of cricket to score 1,000 runs in ODIs. His record has since been broken by his fellow Pakistani teammate Fakhar Zaman. Later that month, he scored a century against Australia in Australia, becoming the first Pakistani batsman to do so since Zaheer Abbas in 1981. With his string of impressive performances, Azam also entered the top 10 of the batsmen’s rankings in ODIs for the first time in his career.
Under Sarfaraz Ahmed’s leadership, Pakistan won its first ICC Champions Trophy title in 2017 which also marked its first ICC tournament win since 2009. Azam was instrumental in Pakistan’s historic triumph as he scored 46 runs off 52 deliveries against India in the title clash. Later in 2017, ICC sent the World XI team to Pakistan to play three T20 International matches. Azam emerged as the leading run-scorer of the series with 179 runs to his name. This included a knock of 86 runs off 52 balls in the first match of the series for which the Pakistani batsman picked up his first Man of the Match award in T20 internationals.
Later in 2017, he became the first batsman to score five consecutive centuries in ODI cricket in one country after notching up his seventh ODI century in a match against Sri Lanka. For his record-breaking performances, Azam was awarded Pakistan’s ODI Player of the Year award at the 2017 PCB Awards and was also included in the ICC World ODI XI for the first time in his career that year.
After a successful T20 International series against New Zealand in 2018, Babar Azam reached the top of the ICC Batsmen’s Rankings in T20 Internationals for the first time in his career. He also became the only Pakistani player after Misbah-ul-Haq to achieve this remarkable feat.
The 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup saw Babar Azam create multiple records. In a Group Stage match against New Zealand, he became the fastest Pakistani batsman to score 3,000 runs in ODI cricket in terms of number of innings played (68). Azam also scored a century in the same match and guided Pakistan to a six-wicket win, thereby becoming the first Pakistani middle-order batsman to score a century in a World Cup match in 32 years. He ended the World Cup with 474 runs in eight innings and overtook Javed Miandad’s record of scoring the most runs for Pakistan in a single edition of the marquee quadrennial tournament.
His rise as a leader of men
After breaking Javed Miandad’s record of being the fastest Pakistani batsman to score 1,000 runs in ODI cricket in a calendar year, Babar Azam was entrusted with the captaincy of the Pakistani cricket team in a T20 International series against Australia in 2019. He also made it to ICC’s World ODI XI for 2019. In January 2020, Pakistan beat Bangladesh by a margin of 2-0 in a T20 International series under the leadership of Azam. It was his first series win and his first Player of the Series award as the captain of the Pakistani team. He was appointed as Pakistan’s ODI captain in May 2020.
Azam created two records in 2020. The first one was in a T20 International match against England where he became the fastest batsman in T20 Internationals to score 1,500 runs, achieving the feat in 39 innings. Later in 2020, in a match against Zimbabwe, Azam also became the first batsman to score more than 1,000 runs in T20 Internationals for the second consecutive year.
Babar Azam’s career highlights: Becoming one of the best players in the world
In April 2021, Babar Azam surpassed Hashim Amla’s record of being the fastest batsman in the history of ODI cricket to score 13 centuries (83 innings) when he achieved the feat in 76 innings in a match, fittingly, against South Africa. At the end of the ODI series, Azam rose to the top of the ICC Batsmen’s Rankings in ODIs, displacing Virat Kohli from the pole position for the first time in 1,258 days. Azam led the Pakistani team in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2021. Under his leadership, Pakistan emerged victorious over India for the first time in a World Cup match across ODIs or T20 Internationals. Pakistan made it to the semi-finals of the tournament but ultimately lost to eventual winners Australia. In terms of personal achievements, Azam created the records for the most half-centuries (four) and most runs (303) scored in a single edition of the T20 World Cup.
In 2022, Australia toured Pakistan for the first time in 24 years. This gave Babar Azam the opportunity to become the first Pakistani captain to score a ton against Australia in ODIs as well as the fastest batsman to score 15 ODI centuries in terms of innings (83). Riding on his century, Pakistan registered their highest successful run chase in ODI history. Azam scored yet another century in the final match of the series and led Pakistan to its first ODI series win against Australia in twenty years. At the fag end of the year, Azam broke the record for the most runs scored by a Pakistani batsman in a calendar year (held by Mohammad Yousuf for 16 years) in a Test match against New Zealand. He also overtook Joe Root to become the highest run-scorer in Test cricket in 2022.
The Pakistani captain played his 100th T20 International match in 2023, becoming only the third Pakistani cricketer to achieve the remarkable feat. Soon after, he also became the first captain in the history of T20 Internationals to score three centuries. Later in 2023, Azam became the fastest batsman in history to score both 5,000 runs and 18 centuries in ODIs. He also led Pakistan to the top of the ICC ODI rankings for the first time in 33 years.
However, he has not had the best of times in international cricket since the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023. Pakistan crashed out of the Group Stage of the marquee tournament and suffered a similar fate in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. Much of the blame for Pakistan’s poor run of form has been rested on Azam’s shoulders.
Consequently, netizens have not been kind to him, and he has become a subject of memes and trolls. But it is never wise to disregard a player of Babar Azam’s class as a potential threat, for on his day, he can take any bowling attack to the cleaners.
| Career Highlights | Details |
|---|---|
| International Debut | ODI: 31 August 2016 vs. Bangladesh |
| T20I: 24 June 2016 vs. England | |
| Test: 13 October 2016 vs. West Indies | |
| ODI Runs | Over 5,000 runs (as of 2024) |
| ODI Average | Approximately 60.00+ (as of 2024) |
| T20I Runs | Over 3,500 runs (as of 2024) |
| Test Runs | Over 4,000 runs (as of 2024) |
| Centuries | Multiple centuries across all formats |
| Fastest to Milestones | Fastest to 1,000, 3,000, 4,000 ODI runs |
| ICC Rankings | Ranked as the No. 1 batsman in ODI and T20I formats |
| Captaincy | Led Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is |
| Notable Achievements | ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year |
How much is the net worth of Babar Azam?
Being one of the best cricketers of his generation, it is hardly a surprise to know that the Pakistani batsman has amassed significant wealth in his career so far. According to a report by Celebrity Net Worth, Babar Azam enjoys a net worth of an estimated USD 10 million (around INR 83.7 crore).
Albeit not as much as cricketers from nations such as India, Australia and England, Azam earns a sizeable amount from his contract with the Pakistan Cricket Board. Reports suggest that he earns a monthly salary of around USD 15,000 (nearly INR 12.6 lakhs) from his contract.
A look at the luxurious assets that Babar Azam owns
A few of the bikes that Babar Azam has in his collection include a Yamaha R1 and a BMW RR 310. According to various reports, the Pakistani cricketer’s luxury car collection boasts of a now-discontinued Audi A5 and a BAIC BJ40 Plus jeep. Interestingly, he received the latter as part of the Player of the Series award he won during Australia’s 2022 tour in Pakistan.
Given his impeccable net worth, it is no surprise that Babar Azam leads a life of luxury. He lives in a two-storied house in Lahore, along with his family. The house has a gym and, by all accounts, offers a stunning view of the surroundings.
Which brands does Babar Azam endorse?
While his earnings from professional cricket account for most of his wealth, the sponsorship deals that Babar Azam enjoys contribute significantly to his overall net worth. The Pakistani cricketer has several big multinational companies in his endorsement portfolio. Out of them, the most prominent endorsement deal that Azam has is with English cricket equipment and apparel manufacturer Gray-Nicolls. According to the terms of the contract, the brand supplies Babar Azam with cricket bats and other sporting gear.