Babar Azam is the backbone of Pakistan cricket team in all three formats of the game. He is the current captain of the men in green. Recently, Pakistan lost a match against the USA in the group stage of T20I World Cup 2024 and the captaincy and playing style of Babar Azam was heavily criticised by the media and cricket experts alike.
Even though Babar has scored the most runs for Pakistan in T20Is, his team has suffered defeats against Zimbabwe, Ireland, Afghanistan, USA and other relatively minnow teams in the shortest format of the game. He was removed from the position of captain but got reinstated before the start of the T20I World Cup. His captaincy record might be not that good but his personal batting records are quite exceptional.
Babar Azam T20I Batting Stats
Babar Azam has played 123 matches in the T20Is for Pakistan. He batted in 116 of them to score 4145 runs, which is a world record in the T20 internationals. He has walked not out in 15 matches. His highest score in this format is 122 and he has scored 3 centuries. Babar also has 36 half-centuries. He has a very good average of 41.04 and is one of the few players in the world to average over 40 in the T20 cricket.
Despite these fancy records, Babar Azam has been criticised for his intent-less batting approach. His six hitting ability is always in question and a total of 72 sixes in his career show that he has failed to play big shots. Babar has a strike rate of just 129.09, which is not expected from a batter of his calibre.
| Matches | 123 |
| Innings | 116 |
| Runs | 4145 |
| Not Outs | 15 |
| Highest Score | 122 |
| Average | 41.04 |
| 50s | 36 |
| 100s | 3 |
| Ducks | 6 |
| 6s | 72 |
| Strike Rate | 129.09 |
Babar Azam T20I Fielding Stats
Babar Azam is not known for his fielding and he has dropped many catches. He has managed only 50 successful catches so far.
| Catches | 50 |
| Most Catches in a Match | 2 |
Babar Azam T20I Captaincy Stats
Babar Azam has captained Pakistan in 85 matches to win 48 and lose 30. He has scored 2642 runs at an average of 37.14 during his captaincy tenure. Interestingly, his overall batting average is better than his average when he captains.
| Matches | 85 |
| Won | 48 |
| Lost | 30 |
| Runs Scored | 2642 |
| Batting Average | 37.14 |
Babar Azam T20I Batting Performance by Year
Babar Azam’s T20I career since 2016 shows his consistency, scoring 4145 runs in 123 matches with an average of 41.04. He has 3 centuries and 36 fifties. Despite his impressive stats, his strike rate of 129.09 often faces criticism from both the fans and cricket experts. However, no one can deny that he is the backbone of Pakistan’s batting.
| Year | Mat | Inns | NO | 100s | 50s | Ducks | 4s | 6s | HS | Runs | Avg | S/R |
| 2016 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 55* | 116 | 116.00 | 128.89 |
| 2017 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 33 | 4 | 86 | 352 | 39.11 | 119.73 |
| 2018 | 12 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 54 | 7 | 97* | 563 | 62.56 | 126.52 |
| 2019 | 10 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 41 | 7 | 90 | 374 | 41.56 | 137.00 |
| 2020 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 34 | 3 | 82 | 276 | 55.20 | 144.50 |
| 2021 | 29 | 26 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 99 | 17 | 122 | 939 | 37.56 | 127.58 |
| 2022 | 26 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 83 | 10 | 110* | 735 | 31.96 | 123.32 |
| 2023 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 101* | 130 | 43.33 | 146.07 |
| 2024 | 19 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 69 | 19 | 75 | 660 | 38.82 | 132.80 |
| Overall | 123 | 116 | 15 | 3 | 36 | 6 | 440 | 72 | 122 | 4145 | 41.04 | 129.09 |
