Babar Azam smashes Virat Kohli’s record in T20I cricket

Former Pakistan captain Babar Azam has overtaken India’s Virat Kohli to become the second-highest run-scorer in T20 International cricket.

Azam achieved the milestone during Pakistan’s third T20I against Australia at Bellerive Oval in Hobart on Monday.

In the match, which Pakistan lost by seven wickets, Babar Azam contributed 41 runs to his team’s total. With this knock, Azam’s T20I run tally has now reached 4,192 runs, surpassing Kohli’s record of 4,188 runs.

Kohli, who retired from the T20I format after leading India to victory in the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, had previously held the second spot.

Babar Azam  is now only 40 runs behind India’s Rohit Sharma, who leads the list with 4,231 runs in T20Is. Azam continues to play in the format for Pakistan, while Kohli and Sharma have both retired from T20Is following India’s World Cup triumph.

In addition to Azam’s achievement, Pakistan’s current white-ball captain Mohammad Rizwan also continues to make his mark, sitting among the top 10 batters with the most runs in T20Is.

Rizwan is the second Pakistan batter to feature in the prestigious list alongside Azam.

The game also saw Pakistan’s defeat by Australia, with the hosts chasing down the target comfortably by seven wickets.