Babar Azam, the skipper of Pakistan, broke Virat Kohli’s record on Sunday to become the first Asian batsman to achieve 10,000 runs in international cricket.
Azam accomplished the feat on the second day of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Stadium during his heroic 119-run innings.
Compared to Kohli’s 232 innings, the Pakistani captain only needed 228 innings to get 10,000 runs.
The Indian greats Sunil Gavaskar (243 innings) and Sourav Ganguly (253 innings) were passed by the Pakistani batsman to take the top spot on the list of some of the best batsmen from the subcontinent.
The leading ODI and T20I batsman also broke the Pakistani record for the fastest 10,000-run milestone in international cricket.
Saeed Anwar (255 innings), Mohammad Yousuf (261 innings), Inzamam-ul-Haq (281 innings), and Younis Khan (284 innings) are some of Pakistan’s greatest hitters. Babar Azam broke Javed Miandad’s record of 248 innings by 20 innings.
Azam also passed 10,000 international runs in the fifth-fastest time ever. Legendary West Indies player Vivian Richards holds the top rank after playing 206 innings to accomplish the milestone.
Hashim Amla (217 innings), Brian Lara (220 innings), and Joe Root (222 innings) are his immediate successors.
The Pakistani captain will, despite pulling off the feat, be more proud of the heroic innings he played to lift Pakistan from a dangerous 85-7 to a respectable total of 218.
Babar Azam faced 133 of the 185 balls the Sri Lankan attack threw at the pair, scoring 65 runs in the 70-run last-wicket stand with Naseem Shah.
To read our blog on “Babar Azam made history by breaking a world record in ODI,” click here.