Pakistan captain Babar Azam on Sunday achieved another milestone as he surpassed Virat Kohli’s record to become the fastest Asian batsman to reach 10,000 runs in international cricket.
Azam achieved the feat during his valiant 119-run knock on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium.
It took the Pakistan captain only 228 innings to score 10,000 runs compared to Kohli’s 232 innings. The Pakistani batsman also overtook Indian greats Sunil Gavaskar (243 innings) and Sourav Ganguly (253 innings) to top the chart featuring some of sub-continents finest batsmen.
The number one ODI and T20I batter also became the fastest Pakistani batsman to reach 10,000 runs in international cricket. Azam bettered the record held by Javed Miandad (248 innings) by 20 innings and now leads the chart that features Pakistani batting greats Saeed Anwar (255 innings), Mohammad Yousuf (261 innings), Inzamam-ul-Haq (281 innings), and Younis Khan (284 innings).
Azam also became the fifth fastest overall to reach 10,000 international runs. The top spot is occupied by West Indies legend Vivian Richards, who reached the landmark in 206 innings. He is followed by Hashim Amla (217 innings), Brian Lara (220 innings), Joe Root (222 innings), and Babar Azam (228 innings).
However, despite achieving the feat, the Pakistani skipper will be more pleased with the herculean innings that saw him rescue Pakistan from a precarious 85-7 to a respectable total of 218.
Azam contributed 65 runs in the 70-run last-wicket stand with Naseem Shah, facing 133 of the 185 balls the Sri Lankan attack delivered to the pair.