Pakistan captain Babar Azam added yet another record to his name, this time surpassing former India captain Virat Kohli to become the fastest Asian to reach the 10000 run mark in international cricket.
Batting in the first innings of the first Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, Babar scored his 10,000th run in international cricket in his 228th innings. Kohli had achieved the milestone in 232 innings. Overall, the Pakistan captain is the fifth fastest to the landmark and the fastest among the Asian batters to do so.
India and Pakistan batters have dominated the 10000 runs list among Asian batters, with Sunil Gavaskar, Javed Miandad, and Sourav Ganguly behind Babar and Kohli, completing the milestone in 243, 248, and 253 innings respectively.
The overall list is led by West Indies legend Vivian Richards, who completed his 10000 runs in international cricket in 206 innings during an illustrious career. Hashim Amla (217), Brian Lara (220), and Joe Root (222) are ahead of the Pakistan captain in the tally.
Babar is currently leading Pakistan in the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka. After dismissing Sri Lanka for 222, Pakistan found itself struggling at 21/2 when the captain arrived in the middle.
The 27-year-old went on to score his 22nd Test fifty in the process of stabilising the visiting side’s innings. He had recently won the internet alongside Kohli by voicing his support for his former India counterpart on social media, with the latter also having responded back on Saturday.
