A haul of eight hundred and 17 fifties during the calendar year was Babar's best of his career to date.
Pakistan named Babar Azam as their new captain in one-day internationals, putting the elegant batsman in charge of both their limited-overs teams after a stellar year with the bat. The top order batsman, who took over Twenty20 captaincy earlier this year, succeeds Sarfaraz Ahmed as Pakistan's white-ball leader while Azhar Ali also got an extension as skipper of the Test side for the 2020-21 season.
Former Pakistan captain Younis Khan believes it is at least five years too early to compare Virat Kohli and Babar Azam as the Indian skipper has proven himself in "every kind of situation" while the latter has not. Younis believes the young Babar still has a long way to go.
Focus firmly on match, India-Pakistan clash will be interesting: Kotak
Noman collected a 10-wicket haul during Pakistan's 93-run triumph over South Africa in Lahore recently and moved up four places.
Under the shimmering floodlights and in front of a roaring partisan crowd, Virat Kohli unleashed his latest masterclass, blasting a 42-ball 70 to guide Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to a sensational 11-run win over Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Tournament co-hosts India will be out to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title in familiar home conditions next month.
Babar Azam stood firm amid a batting collapse to compile his seventh Test hundred
IMAGES from the T20 World Cup match played between Pakistan and Ireland in Lauderhill, USA on Sunday.
Babar Azam announced that he will be stepping down as the white-ball captain of the Pakistan cricket team, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is likely to take his place
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has delayed the announcement of its World Cup squad until late May due to fitness and performance issues with some players.
Babar's injury came a day after top-order batsman Imam-ul-Haq fractured his left thumb, also during a practice session.
If rain leads to a shortened game, Babar and his boys are ready.
'The Indian top order should observe Babar and Kane to understand how to handle pacers when the ball is moving around. Both of them possess exceptional skills in playing late.'
In the longest format of the game, Babar is ranked fifth in the world, behind Australia's Marnus Labuschagne and the 'Big Four' of India's Virat Kohli, England's Joe Root, Australia's Steve Smith and New Zealand's Kane Williamson.
Nasser Hussain hailed Pakistan's debutant batter Kamran Ghulam for his century during the second Test against Three Lions at Multa
While Kohli has slipped to 10th on the ICC rankings, the Indian great continues to hold a remarkable Test batting record. He has scored 27 Test centuries and 28 half-centuries and currently has a Test batting average of just under 50.
Pakistan's batting mainstay Babar Azam knows he might be a bit rusty after the extended break from competitive cricket during the coronavirus shutdown but he is confident his strong basics will help him quickly get back up to speed. The elegant right-hander has been cooling his heels at home since playing a Pakistan Super League match last month as professional cricket remains suspended due to the pandemic.
Pakistan left-handed batter Fawad Alam and left-arm fast bowler Shaheen Afridi have achieved career-best positions in the ICC Men's Test Player Rankings after helping Pakistan win the second Test against the West Indies in Kingston to draw their two-match ICC World Test Championship series 1-1.
India's biggest challenge could come from an unexpected source -- Pakistan's mystery spinner Usman Tariq.
Pakistan to field unchanged XI against India in Asia Cup
Babar Azam has led Pakistan team well in the ongoing T20 World Cup and doesn't need to do anything differently in the semi-final against Australia on Thursday, PCB chairman and former skipper Ramiz Raja said on the eve of the game.
Pakistan skipper Babar Azam said the massive 238-run win over Nepal in the Asia Cup opener will give his side confidence.
The kitty has become popular with viewers and has gone viral with one particular cheeky comment from Lahori Guy who tweeted: 'Black Cat contributed more in Karachi Stadium than Babar Azam.'
Former cricketer Basit Ali disclosed that Gary Kirsten was displeased with Mohammad Rizwan's appointment as Pakistan's white-ball captain
Babar also made it clear he had no issues with the interim chief selector Shahid Afridi on selection of players and said he and the head coach were giving their input and outlining their plans to the selectors regularly and in meetings.
The 53-year-old said he had immense respect for some of the Indian players of his generation but never showed it on the field.
Babar Azam said that the partnership between Mohammed Rizwan and Mohammad Nawaz was the turning point of the match
Saim Ayub and Khurram Shahzad received their debut call-ups to Pakistan's squad for the three-match Test series against Australia.
Former Pakistan captain blamed frequent changes in the team's management, coaches, and players for the chaotic situation.
Pakistan batsman Babar Azam's sparkling form has earned him comparisons with Virat Kohli but the elegant right-hander says he has a long way to go before he can be considered the Indian skipper's equal. Both top-order batsmen score freely and play the cover drive particularly well. Babar averages above 45 in Tests and 50-plus in both One-Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals, putting him in the top five of all three formats.
India vice-captain Shubman Gill dethroned Pakistan's Babar Azam from the No. 1 spot in the ICC ODI Rankings for batters on the back of his strong showing against England in the recent home series.
Babar capitalised on an early reprieve to score a career-best 143 not out when bad light forced early stumps with Pakistan 109 ahead with seven wickets remaining.
Shinwari rattled the top order as he scalped three of the opening five wickets.
Pakistan mentor Matthew Hayden is backing struggling captain Babar Azam to produce something special in the knockout stages of the Twenty20 World Cup, starting in Wednesday's semi-final against New Zealand.
Pakistan's Shan Masood is likely to be retained captain for the upcoming home Test series against England, while Babar Azam is also assured of keeping his white-ball captaincy when the team flies to Australia and South Africa later this year.
Babar Azam acknowledged that Sri Lanka outperformed his team
'Agar chache ke puttar ne keh diya hai ki t-shirt chahiye Kohli ki, then do it after the game in the dressing room.'
2009 champions Pakistan were stunned by debutants USA in the Super Over.
'Unfortunately, we tend to crack under pressure and lose close matches as we have seen in recent games.'
