Babar Azam in PSL (Source: AFP Photos)
Babar Azam once again etched his name into the history books on Thursday during Match 17 of PSL 2026 at National Bank Cricket Arena, Karachi.
In the process, the former Pakistan captain joined the likes of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, Virat Kohli, Shoaib Malik, James Vince, Rohit Sharma, Quinton de Kock and Faf du Plessis in a major T20 milestone.
Babar Azam Completes 12000 T20 Runs
After coming to open the innings for Peshawar Zalmi, Babar Azam completed the major milestone, breaking the 12000-run mark in T20s. The above-mentioned names have already breached the mark, with Babar being the latest addition to the list.
More importantly, Babar became the fastest player to get to the 12000-run mark in T20s. He reached there in his 338th T20 innings. Gayle had held the earlier record, getting as many runs in 345 innings, while Virat Kohli took 360 innings to breach the mark.
Fastest to 12000 T20 Runs (By Innings)
- 338 - Babar Azam*
- 345 – Chris Gayle
- 360 – Virat Kohli
Before the PSL 2026 match between Karachi and Peshawar, Babar needed only 13 more runs to reach 12000 T20 runs. He got there during the 4th over of Peshawar’s innings.
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Babar smashed Khushdil Shah for a boundary to achieve the milestone, and since then, he has not stopped himself from being aggressive.
Babar Azam is batting on 53* off 33 balls, which has had seven fours and a six.
Not to forget, Babar has been going through a rough patch, whether he is playing for club or country. He disappointed massively during Pakistan’s T20 World Cup campaign, which ended without reaching the semi-finals.
Babar came to bat in the middle order under the responsibility of captain Salman Agha and Mike Hesson. Unfortunately, the ploy did not work.
Babar Azam's Record In PSL
Babar has been the poster boy in the Pakistan Super League for a while. He holds the record of having the most runs in PSL, tallying 3927 runs in the competition in 103 matches.
To give the readers a context of how consistent Babar Azam has been in PSL, the second in the competition’s highest run-getter’s chart is Fakhar Zaman, who has only 3018 runs across 99 matches.
This year, Babar has performed well in PSL, having made 39 and 43 in his previous two outings.
Kusal Mendis Storm Powers Peshawar To Huge Total Vs Karachi
While Babar is currently on 65* off 39 balls, Kusal Mendis is batting at another gear. Mendis is on 98* off 45 balls, which had 12 fours and four sixes.
Peshawar, at the time of writing this, are 179/1 after 15.4 overs after Karachi Kings asked them to bat first. All Karachi Kings bowlers, including Adam Zampa, has been taken to cleaners.
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