ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s all-format captain Babar Azam broke another record when he became the only batter to stay atop the world’s T20I rankings for over 1,013 days, outranking India’s Virat Kohli, the International Cricket Council said on Wednesday.
Former Indian captain Kohli held the previous record when he was ranked number one on the MRF Tyres ICC T20 batting rankings for 1,013 days during the last decade.
Azam, who is currently the world’s number one ranked batter in both T20I and ODI rankings, has expressed the desire to secure the number one spot in all three formats of the game. He is placed at number four in the Test batter’s ranking.
“Pakistan captain Babar Azam can lay claim to being the top-ranked T20I batter in the world for the longest period of time after he maintained his spot at the head of proceedings on the latest MRF Tyres ICC T20 batting rankings,” the ICC said in a statement.
Azam is placed at the top of the Men’s T20I rankings table with 818 points while his opening partner and teammate Mohammad Rizwan comes in at a distant second, with 794 points.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) congratulated Azam and also paid tribute to fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who rose to a career-best number three ranking among ODI bowlers.
The Pakistan cricket team received plaudits last year for their performance in the ICC T20 Men’s World Cup 2020 where they beat impressive teams India, Afghanistan and New Zealand before losing out to Australia in the semifinal thriller.
