Pakistan captain Babar Azam became the second batsman to score 4,000 runs in Twenty20 internationals during the fourth T20I against England at The Oval on Thursday.
The right-hander reached the milestone in his 119th T20I appearance (112th innings) with consecutive boundaries off Chris Jordan in the fourth over.
Azam joins India's Virat Kohli as the only players to surpass 4,000 runs in the shortest format. Kohli achieved the feat in 107 innings.
Azam has enjoyed success against several teams, surpassing 500 runs against the West Indies, New Zealand and England. The 29-year-old has amassed the majority of his runs in Pakistan, scoring 1,361 in 36 innings. He also has 763 runs in 23 innings in the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan's adopted home ground.
Read Also | WATCH: Virat Kohli Departs for T20 World Cup 2024 in USA, Spotted at Mumbai Airport; Video Goes Viral
Azam has a chance to overtake Kohli for the most T20I runs during the upcoming 2024 T20 World Cup. With 36 runs off 22 balls in his latest innings against England, Azam has scored 4,023 runs in 112 innings. He trails Kohli by just 14 runs, and Kohli has only played two T20Is since the 2022 World Cup.
Pakistan's World Cup campaign begins against the United States on June 6 in Dallas. They will then face arch-rivals India in a high-profile clash in New York on June 9 before matches against Canada and Ireland in Group B.
Top 5 T20I Run-Scorers:
- Virat Kohli (India) - 4,037 runs (107 innings)
- Babar Azam (Pakistan) - 4,023 runs (112 innings)
- Rohit Sharma (India) - 3,974 runs (143 innings)
- Paul Stirling (Ireland) - 3,589 runs (141 innings)
- Martin Guptill (New Zealand) - 3,531 runs (118 innings)
Azam has surpassed 10,000 runs in T20 cricket overall, but still trails former Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik, who holds the record with 13,360 T20 runs.
