ISLAMABAD: Former captain Babar Azam and lethal pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi remained the leading run-getter and wicket-taker for Pakistan in 2023, according to statistics shared by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday.
Azam, who failed to impress this year in the 50-over Asia Cup and World Cup tournaments, has continued with his poor run of form in Pakistan’s ongoing Test series against Australia. The previous year proved to be a disappointing one for Azam and his fans after he resigned as skipper of the team from all three formats of the game following the green shirts’ dismal performance in the World Cup.
However, he reclaimed his top spot in the ODI batters’ rankings last month and scored 1,399 runs from 35 matches, which included three centuries and 10 fifties throughout the year.
“Leading run-getter and top wicket-taker for Pakistan in international cricket in 2023,” the PCB wrote on social media platform X, sharing Azam and Afridi’s pictures.
Afridi, meanwhile, was appointed captain of Pakistan’s national squad in the T20 format after Azam stepped down from the post in November. The left-arm pacer took 62 wickets from 30 matches at an average of 27.80 in 2023.
Afridi was criticized by cricket commentators and analysts after his pace surprisingly dropped in Australia, where he failed to bowl above 140km/h on most occasions.
Former captain Bismah Maroof was the leading run-getter for Pakistan women’s team, scoring an impressive 624 runs from 25 matches in 2023 which included three half-centuries. Nashra Sundhi took the most wickets for Pakistan in international fixtures this year, taking an impressive 30 wickets from 24 matches at an average of 23.13.
After narrowly losing to Australia in the second Test match at Melbourne, Pakistan will face the hosts in the third and final match of the series at Sydney on Jan. 3. Skipper Shan Masood’s side will aim to defeat Australia in a bid to end their consecutive losses in Test cricket against the Aussies in the longest format of the game since 1996.
