Skipper Babar Azam has etched his name in the annals of T20I cricket, despite Pakistan’s infamous defeat at the hands of minnows Ireland during the first T20I in Dublin on Friday.
While Pakistan’s cream of the crop for the upcoming T20 World Cup was busy losing to the lowly ranked Ireland in Dublin, Babar was making history leading the ‘Shaheens’ for the 77th time as T20I captain.
Babar Azam now holds the world record for most appearances as captain in T20I for any country, surpassing former Aussie skipper Aaron Finch, who captained Australia in 76 T20Is.
| Country | Captain | T20Is |
| Pakistan | Babar Azam | 77 |
| Australia | Aaron Finch | 76 |
| India | MS Dhoni | 72 |
| England | Eoin Morgan | 72 |
| New Zealand | Kane Williamson | 71 |
That’s not all! Babar Azam achieved another milestone as he is just one victory away from becoming the most successful T20I captain, dethroning the record held by Brian Masaba from Uganda, who has 44 wins as captain. Babar is currently tied with the Ugandan legend with 44 wins as skipper. However, given the team he is playing with, a victory seems like a far-fetched dream at this point, even against a team like Ireland.
| Country | Captain | Wins | Matches |
| Uganda | Brian Masaba | 44 | 56 |
| Pakistan | Babar Azam | 44 | 77 |
| Afghanistan | Asghar Afghan | 42 | 52 |
| England | Eoin Morgan | 42 | 72 |
Pakistan played Ireland for the first time in 15 years, and the ol’ “luck of the Irish” was in the air as batter Andy Balbirnie’s heroics with the bat helped the hosts beat the visitors. It was Ireland’s first win over Pakistan in the format, with the only time the teams met earlier during the World T20I in 2009.