ISLAMABAD: Pakistan skipper Babar Azam became the most successful men’s T20I captain after his side clinched a seven-wicket victory over Ireland recently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Monday. 

Pakistan beat Ireland on Sunday by seven wickets and more than three overs to spare, chasing the Irish team’s impressive target of 194 runs. Azam made 0 runs off four balls after he was dismissed by Graham Hume when he edged the ball straight into the hands of Lorcan Tucker but his poor performance had no effect on Pakistan. 

An impressive 140-run partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and left-arm batter Fakhar Zaman helped Pakistan to victory over Ireland. it also helped Azam to a new record. 

“It took Babar past Uganda’s Brian Masaba for the most wins by male T20I captains and in front of former skippers in the ilk of England’s Eoin Morgan, India’s MS Dhoni and Australia’s Aaron Finch,” the ICC said. 

Separately, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi congratulated Azam in Dublin after the match and presented him a jersey with the words “45 T20I wins” written on its back. Naqvi also presented fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi with a jersey for taking 300 international wickets in his career so far. The fast bowler also achieved the feat in the match against Ireland after he returned figures of 3/49. 

The three-match series stands leveled at 1-1 after Pakistan’s win. Ireland beat the 2009 T20 world champions by five wickets in an upset victory in the series opener on Friday. 

Pakistan will head to England for a four-match T20I series after the final match of the Ireland series on Tuesday. Following the England series, with matches scheduled at Headingley (22 May), Birmingham (25 May), Cardiff (28 May), and The Oval, London (30 May), both England and Pakistan will head to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024. 

England will face Scotland in Barbados on June 4 in their opening match, while Pakistan will launch their campaign against the United States (US) in Dallas on June 6. Pakistan will take on arch-rivals India on June 9 in New York which is set to be one of the most anticipated clashes of the T20 World Cup.

ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Beijing on Monday to take part in a strategic dialogue with Chinese FM Wang Yi, Pakistan’s foreign office said in a statement, during a four-day visit in which the security of Chinese organizations and personnel working in the South Asian nation is expected to be at the top of the agenda. 

China is a major ally and investor in Pakistan but both separatist and other militants have attacked Chinese projects over recent years, killing Chinese personnel, including five workers in a latest suicide bombing in March. Under the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a flagship project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, Beijing has pledged more than $65 billion for road, rail and other infrastructure developments in the South Asian nation of 241 million people.

Beijing has also readily provided financial assistance to bail out its often-struggling neighbor, including in July last year when China granted Pakistan a two-year rollover on a $2.4 billion loan, giving the debt-saddled nation much-needed breathing space as it tackled a balance-of-payments crisis.

This is Dar’s first official trip to China since assuming the post of foreign minister and deputy prime minister. He will co-chair the fifth round of the Pakistan-China Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue with Yi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said. 

“The Deputy Prime Minister will also hold meetings with Chinese leaders and senior officials and with prominent business enterprises,” MoFA said. 

In an earlier statement, MoFA said Dar and his counterpart would discuss issues of core interest like economic and trade cooperation, including CPEC and regional peace and development.

Dar’s visit to China takes place as Pakistan moves to seek foreign investments from its allies while navigating an economic crisis that has seen its reserves dip to dangerously low levels and its currency weaken against the dollar. In recent weeks, Pakistan has seen visits by top officials from Saudi Arabia, Japan and Uzbekistan to discuss investment deals.