Babar Azam was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and played his early Cricket there. He became illuminated on the international platform after playing in two U-19 World Cups. He made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe in 2015. After that, he has been a regular member of the Pakistan cricket team and is now the all-formats captain of the Pakistan cricket team.
Babar Azam’s Bio
| Full Name | Babar Azam |
| Nick Name | Bobby |
| Born Date | October 15, 1994 |
| Born Place | Lahore, Punjab |
| Age | 2 |
| Batting Style | Right Handed Bat |
| Bowling Style | Right Arm Off Break |
| Role | Batsman |
| Zodiac Sign | Libra |
| Hometown | Lahore, Punjab |
| Religion | Islam |
Babar Azam`s Net Worth
| Net worth | 6.4 Million |
| PCB contract salary | More than 8000 USD |
| PSL Salary | 10 Million |
Babar Azam’s Physical Measurements
| Height | 1,80 m |
| Weight | 67 Kg |
| Eye Color | Dark Brown |
| Hair Color | Black |
| Chest | 42 inches |
| Waist | 34 inches |
| Bicep | 13 inches |
Babar Azam’s Family
| Father Name | Azam Siddique |
| Mother Name | Not Known |
| Marital Status | Single |
| Girlfriend | None |
| Wife/Spouse | None |
| Son | None |
| Daughter | None |
| Brother’s | Faisal Azam and Safeer Azam |
| Sister | Faariya Azam |
| Cousin | Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal and Adnan Akmal |
Early Life and Cricket
Babar Azam was born in Lahore and started his cricket career there. He started tape ball cricket in the streets after seeing the talent his father, Azam Siddique, gave him under the mentorship of Mansoor Hameed, the childhood coach of Babar Azam. While remembering Babar’s days at the club, he once mentioned.
“Babar was a very shy kid when he came to our club. He initially struggled for two months when he joined the club as he was trying to acclimatize himself. But once he got settled, it was impossible to get him out. He followed this approach from the grassroots and is still following the same hard work and work routine.”
In 2007 he made a surprise appearance in the live ODI match of Pakistan v South Africa when he took a catch outside the boundary rope on the ball being hit for six by J.P. Duminy in the 42nd over. He was there as a ball-picker boy. The catch was so impressive that it could not refrain Ian Bishop from sharing some words of appreciation for him while commenting.
Family Background
Babar Azam’s family background was not very strong. He bought his bat from the savings his mother had. It was bought for 1500 PKR. In another instance, while talking about the poverty he had to face, he said once he went to one of his cousins to ask him about shoes to play the match using his shoe, but his cousin refused. Babar said that day that he decided I would get on his own whatever I wanted.
Babar Azam was first seen on the international cricket scene at 15 when he was selected for the Pakistani team to participate in the ICC U-15 World Championship in 2008. He was the leading run scorer for Pakistan there.
Career
U-19 World Cups
Babar Azam played in two U-19 world cups in 2010 and 2012, respectively. He was the top run-getter for his team in the tournaments. In the 2012 U-19 World Cup, he led Pakistan Cricket Team, whose journey was ended by India in the quarter-finals.
ODI
He made his ODI debut against Zimbabwe at his home ground Gaddafi Stadium Lahore 2015. That was a historical tour for Pakistan cricket because it was the first time any international team came to Pakistan after the 2009 attacks.
He made 50 in his debut match, but to Pakistan’s misfortune, the play was abandoned because of the unsuitable playing conditions. West Indies tour of Pakistan in UAE was the breakthrough year for Babar, where he scored three consecutive centuries against West Indies.
After that, he kept on scoring hundreds. His most important hundred came against New Zealand in the 2019 ICC ODI World Cup, where he chased down a target on the pitch that was looking difficult for the batters, but he scored a magnificent hundred and finished the match.
Until now, in the 87 innings of the 89 matches he has played for Pakistan, he has scored 4442 runs at an average of 59.23 and at a strike rate of 90.25 which is some stuff. He has scored 17 centuries as well. He is ranked number 1 in the ICC Men’s ODI Batters Rankings.
T20I
Babar played his first T20I match against England at the Emirates Old Trafford in 2016, where he finished the match and helped the team Pakistan to win the 1 match series 1-0. Babar is regarded as a T20I giant. He has scored 2686 runs at an average of 45.53 and a strike rate of 129.45 in the 69 innings of the 74 matches he has played.
He is ranked number 1 in the ICC Men’s T20I Batters Rankings. His best performance was against South Africa, where he scored 122 runs and helped Pakistan to chase its first 200+ target in its history of T20I Cricket.
Test
He made his test debut against West Indies at the Dubai International Stadium 2016. He scored 69 and 21 runs in the 1st and 2nd innings, respectively, and Pakistan won that match.
His Test career life was a bit interesting as he was continuously failing to score big after a good start, but his coach Mickey Arthur insisted on playing him on the test side even at the expense of facing the wrath of Pakistani media; his fruit of patience yielded and know he is the number 3ranked ICC Men’s Test Batter rankings. He scored 3122 runs in 75 innings and an average of 47.3.
His best performance came against Australia in 2022 at Karachi, where he played more than 400 balls and helped Pakistan to draw the match.
PSL
In the inaugural edition of the HBL PSL, he played for Islamabad United but was given just three chances which were not enough to prove his mettle. He was traded to Karachi Kings in 2016, which was the worst decision Islamabad United has ever made. He was the leading run-scorer in the history of PSL and is now the captain of Peshawar Zalmi.
Records
- He has the 3rd highest batting average in ODI cricket, i.e., 59.22.
- Babar is the second fastest to 4000 ODI runs in 82 innings.
- He is the only batsman in ODI history to score three consecutive centuries on two occasions.
- Babar has the second most player of the series awards in T20I, i.e., 5
- He has scored the second most runs in T20I in a year, i.e., 953
- Babar has the 3rd highest T20I average, i.e., 45.
- He has 3rd most fifties in the T20I, i.e., 27
- He is the fastest to 2500 runs in the T20I, i.e., 62 innings.
- Azam scored the highest for Pakistan in the 4th innings of a test match, i.e., 196 v Australia.
- Azam has the 4th highest score in T20I innings by a captain, i.e., 122 v South Africa.
Awards
- PCB ODI Cricketer of the Year 2017.
- PCB T20I Cricketer of the Year 2018.
- He was named in the ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year for 2017.
- Babar was named in the ICC Men’s ODI team of the year for 2019.
- He was a player in the tournament in the 2020 PSL.
- Named as ICC Men’s ODI Cricketer of the Year 2021.
- Selected as ICC Men’s T20I Team of the Year 2021 captain.
- Named as ICC Men’s ODI Team of the Year 2021 captain.
- She was named captain of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Team of the Tournament.
- Winner of ICC Player of the Month for April 2021.
- PCB’s ODI Cricketer of the Year: 2021.
