USA vs PAK: Babar Azam snatches Virat Kohli's crown as he becomes the leading run-getter in T20I history

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam on Thursday (June 6th) surpassed India batter Virat Kohli in a massive feat in the T20I cricket. The opening batter became the leading run-getter in the shortest format of the game and is now at the top charts with over 4050 runs to his name. 

Pakistan captain Babar Azam achieved the feat during the ongoing game against the United States of America (USA) in the T20 World Cup 2024. The 11th match of the tournament between the teams is underway at the Grand Prairie International Stadium in Texas. 

Babar Azam has yet again stood tall for his team in this difficult situation. While the wickets at the other end kept falling, he made sure that he held the one end for his team and kept them in the hunt at the Grand Prairie International Stadium in Texas in their first game of the T20 World Cup 2024. 

Babar Azam, who is considered one of the best batters in the world, during his innings became the leading run-batter in T20 international cricket. The right-hander overtook Virat Kohli’s tally of 4038 runs and now is the highest run-scorer in the format. 

Most runs in T20I format 

4050 - Babar Azam*

4038 - Virat Kohli 

4026 - Rohit Sharma 

3591 - Paul Stirling 

3531 - Martin Guptill

Babar Azam played a decent hand for his team in the ongoing game against the USA. He ended with an innings of 44 runs off 43 balls. The Pakistan captain had a strike rate of around 100 and also slammed 3 fours and 2 sixes in his innings. 

With the team tumbling at 26/3, Babar Azam stood tall for his team and along with Shadab Khan (40) bailed the team out of trouble. The duo added 72 runs together and based on their partnership, they posted a total of 159 runs on the board. 

Irfan Pathan and Harsha Bhogle criticise Babar Azam for the slow innings against USA in T20 World Cup 2024

As Babar Azam couldn’t play a fast innings, former India cricket Irfan Pathan criticised the Pakistan skipper. He stated that he didn’t help his team's cause. Taking to his Twitter account, he explained: 

“On a fairly decent batting condition as a captain if you are playing  40+ ball innings with 100 strike rate. You aren’t helping your team cause.”

On a fairly decent batting condition as a captain if you are playing 40+ ball inning with 100 strike rate. You aren’t helping your team cause. #babarazam

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) June 6, 2024

Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle also wasn’t amazed by Babar Azam’s innings and claimed that the Pakistan skipper wouldn’t be happy with his innings as he looked out of rhythm. He added: 

“I have seen Babar Azam play many fine innings. This 44(43) won't be among them. On a decent surface, he looked strangely out of rhythm.”

I have seen Babar Azam play many fine innings. This 44(43) won't be among them. On a decent surface, he looked strangely out of rhythm.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) June 6, 2024