Azhar Ali, known for his calm batting style, marked his 92nd Test match at Rawalpindi in the historic contest against Australia. Since his debut in 2010, Azhar Ali has played consistently for Pakistan as a Test cricketer. However, he isn’t appreciated enough for his efforts and determination towards the long and rather unglamorous format of cricket. Although he might not have been very lucky with winning public consent, the former Test captain has listed himself among the top performers for Pakistan over years.
Among the Greats is Azhar Ali
Azhar Ali has played plenty of Test cricket in the last decade and is currently the most experienced batsman in the Pakistan Test side. So far, the right-handed batter has amassed 6,906 runs at an average of 43.43. He is the fifth-highest scorer in Test cricket from Pakistan following the legendary Younis Khan, Javed Miandad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Muhammad Yousuf. However, all these names garnered immense praise in return for their runs, while cricket lovers seem to be less generous when it comes to Azhar Ali.
In his long Test career, Azhar Ali has also steered clear of controversies that a lot of Asian batsmen have to face. The former Test captain has equally impressive records away from home since he is also the fifth-highest scorer away from home and highest among the current players for Pakistan. In his 57 matches away from home, Azhar Ali has scored 3,742 runs. He also holds the record for smashing the third-most number of hundreds, 10, away from home, which is more than the legendary Javed Miandad.
| Player | Total Matches | Total Runs | Away Matches | Runs in Away Matches |
| Younis Khan | 118 | 10,099 | 71 | 5,608 |
| Javed Miandad | 124 | 8,832 | 67 | 4,820 |
| Inzamam-ul-Haq | 119 | 8,829 | 68 | 4,821 |
| Muhammad Yousuf | 90 | 7,530 | 55 | 4,174 |
| Azhar Ali | 92 | 6,906 | 57 | 3,742 |
UAE is his Backyard
While Azhar Ali has performed remarkably in the away series, he has also been phenomenal in UAE where Pakistan hosted most of their home series in the last decade. In his 27 matches at UAE, Azhar Ali has scored 2,537 runs at an outstanding average of 53.97. He is the highest scorer in the long format for Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates.
| Player | Country | Matches | Runs | Average |
| Azhar Ali | UAE | 27 | 2,537 | 53.97 |
| Younis Khan | UAE | 27 | 2,484 | 55.20 |
| Misbah-ul-Haq | UAE | 26 | 2,209 | 59.70 |
| Asad Shafiq | UAE | 30 | 2,010 | 45.68 |
| Mohammad Hafeez | UAE | 22 | 1,677 | 45.32 |
On Australian Soil
Facing Australia in Australia has always been a tough grind and those who survive surely possess some serious batting skills. Surprising for many, Azhar Ali stood out on Australian soil too, having the highest average among the Pakistani batsmen who scored more than 200 runs.
In his 10 Test matches against Australia down under, Azhar Ali scored 468 runs averaging 52, while Babar Azam has scored 278 runs in an equal number of matches at an average of 27.80. 37-year-old is also the only Pakistani batsman to score a double-hundred in Australia. Had Azhar Ali added another 15 runs to his 185 in the Rawalpindi Test, he would have become the only Pakistani to score a double century twice against Australia.
Even away from their home, Australian bowlers are no less lethal. However, Azhar Ali has proved to be Pakistan’s best current batsman versus Australian bowling attack at home as well. The veteran batsman is the second-highest run-scorer against Australia in the home series, mounting 532 runs at an average of 48.36, following Younis Khan’s 591 runs.
Overall, Azhar Ali is the third most successful Pakistani batsman against Australia, scoring 1,185 runs in his 12 matches. Only Javed Miandad and Zaheer Abbas, who scored 1,797 runs in 25 matches and 1,411 runs in 20 matches, have scored more runs than Azhar Ali.
Here is the record for Pakistani batsmen against Australia:
| Player | Opponent | Matches | Runs | Average |
| Javed Miandad | Australia | 25 | 1797 | 47.28 |
| Zaheer Abbas | Australia | 20 | 1411 | 44.09 |
| Azhar Ali | Australia | 12 | 1185 | 56.42 |
| Younis Khan | Australia | 11 | 1148 | 57.40 |
| Saleem Malik | Australia | 15 | 1106 | 46.08 |
Among Modern Batsmen
Despite all the above records, questions may arise on Azhar Ali’s spot in the team while many young batsmen are around. However, answering the concerns with his bat, Azhar Ali is statistically the top batsman for Pakistan in recent years.
In the last 5 years, Azhar Ali has scored more runs than any other batsman for Pakistan. Not diving deep into the past, the veteran batsman is still the second-highest scorer in the last three years. Since 2019, Azhar Ali has 1,260 runs at an average of 39.37, slightly behind Babar Azam’s 1,406 Test runs. Hence, Azhar Ali might not be fans’ favorite as much as Babar Azam, but the former captain is no less in terms of scoring runs.
| Player | Span | Matches | Runs | Average |
| Babar Azam | 2019-2022 | 19 | 1,406 | 52.07 |
| Azhar Ali | 2019-2022 | 21 | 1,260 | 39.37 |
| Abid Ali | 2019-2022 | 16 | 1,180 | 49.16 |
| Muhammad Rizwan | 2019-2022 | 19 | 988 | 44.90 |
| Fawad Alam | 2019-2022 | 13 | 703 | 50.91 |
Do you think Azhar Ali deserves a little more respect and stardom from Pakistani fans than he currently gets? Share your thoughts in the comments section.
He certainly does.
In fact he is my favorite player in test and odi (which he did not play now). I don,t think any other current pakistani batter is so calm as he is to score a triple in test cricket.
He is very good batsman for test only.
Unfortunate for Azhar Ali that nowadays, also cricket is discouraged, even in test strike rate below 60 is discouraged. So Azhar Ali needs to play with better strike rate.
Excellent article.