RAWALPINDI: Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan became the fastest batsman to complete 3,000 runs in Twenty20 international cricket during the second match against New Zealand in Rawalpindi on Saturday.
The 31-year-old reached the milestone when he reached 19 during his innings of 45 not out which helped Pakistan chase down a modest 91-run target in 12.1 overs for a seven-wicket victory.
This was Rizwan’s 79th Twenty20 innings, beating his skipper Babar Azam and Indian great Virat Kohli who both completed 3,000 runs in 81 T20I innings.
Rizwan is the eighth batsman to score 3,000 or more runs in Twenty20 internationals with Kohli top of the charts with 4,037 in 117 matches.
Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series with the first game washed out after just two balls, also in Rawalpindi, on Thursday.
Pakistan’s Rizwan completes fastest 3,000 T20I runs
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Pakistan’s Rizwan completes fastest 3,000 T20I runs
- Pakistan took a 1-0 lead in the five-match series against New Zealand with the first game washed out
- This was Rizwan’s 79th Twenty20 innings, beating his skipper Babar Azam and Indian great Virat Kohli
Pakistan reports current account surplus in Jan. owing to improved trade, remittances
- Pakistan’s exports crossed the $3 billion mark in Jan. as the country received $3.5 billion in remittances
- Last month, IMF urged Pakistan to accelerate pace of structural reforms to strengthen economic growth
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan recorded a current account surplus of more than $120 million in January, the country’s finance adviser said on Tuesday, attributing it to improved trade balance and remittance inflows.
Pakistan’s exports rebounded in January 2026 after five months of weak performance, rising 3.73 percent year on year and surging 34.96 percent month on month, according to data released by the country’s statistics bureau.
Exports crossed the $3 billion mark for the first time in January to reach $3.061 billion, compared to $2.27 billion in Dec. 2025. The country received $3.5 billion in foreign remittances in Jan. 2026.
Khurram Schehzad, an adviser to the finance minister, said Pakistan reported a current account surplus of $121 million in Jan., compared to a current account deficit of $393 million in the same month last year.
“Improved trade balance in January 2026, strong remittance inflows, and sustained momentum in services exports (IT/Tech) continue to reinforce the country’s external account position,” he said on X.
Pakistan has undergone a difficult period of stabilization, marked by inflation, currency depreciation and financing gaps, and international rating agencies have acknowledged improvements after Islamabad began implementing reforms such as privatizing loss-making, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and ending subsidies as part of a $7 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan program.
Late last month, the IMF urged Pakistan to accelerate the pace of these structural reforms to strengthen economic growth.
Responding to questions from Arab News at a virtual media roundtable on emerging markets’ resilience, IMF’s director of the Middle East and Central Asia Jihad Azour said Islamabad’s implementation of the IMF requirements had been “strong” despite devastating floods that killed more than 1,000 people and devastated farmland, forcing the government to revise its 4.2 percent growth target to 3.9 percent.
“What is important going forward in order to strengthen growth and to maintain the level of macroeconomic stability is to accelerate the structural reforms,” he said at the meeting.
Azour underlined Pakistan’s plans to privatize some of the SOEs and improve financial management of important public entities, particularly power companies, as an important way for the country to boost its capacity to cater to the economy for additional exports.
“This comes in addition to the effort that the authorities have made in order to reform their tariffs, which will allow the private sector of Pakistan to become more competitive,” the IMF official said.
