Babar Azam turns 29: 3 Virat Kohli records he has already broken
Star Pakistan batter Babar Azam celebrates his 29th birthday on Sunday, October 15. The Pakistani skipper is currently in India, leading his team in the ongoing ICC men's World Cup 2023.
Ever since his debut in 2015, Babar has been destined for greatness. The birthday boy has certainly lived up to his potential, having been the talisman for Pakistan across all three formats for some time now.
Due to his remarkable numbers, elegant strokeplay, and consistency, Babar has often been compared to India's Virat Kohli. While the two are in completely different phases of their respective careers, several fans and pundits have not shied away from comparing the two modern greats.
While it is not a surprise that the former Indian captain has broken countless records in his 15-year-old international career so far, Babar is himself en route to greatness.
In his career thus far, Babar has already surpassed some of Virat Kohli's records. On the occasion of his 29th birthday, we take a look at a compilation of three of Virat Kohli's records, which Babar Azam has broken.
#1 Fastest Asian batter to reach 10,000 runs in international cricket (in terms of innings)
![Babar Azam during training [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/d7b92-16973716538072-1920.jpg?w=500)
While Kohli is currently on the verge of completing his 26,000 runs in international cricket, he was the fastest Asian batter to complete 10,000 international runs at one point in time.
However, during a Test match against Sri Lanka in 2022, Babar eclipsed Kohli on the list. While Kohli achieved the feat in his 232nd innings, Babar crossed the landmark in his 228th knock.
Overall, Babar is the fifth fastest to the landmark and is the fastest among the Asian batters.
#2 Fastest to score 2000 ODI runs as a captain
The latest record that Babar broke was scoring the fastest 2,000 runs as a captain in one-day internationals. He set the record in a game against Bangladesh at the Asia Cup 2023.
It was his 31st innings as an ODI captain of Pakistan. Virat Kohli, meanwhile, previously held the record and took 36 innings to reach the milestone.
Former South African skipper AB de Villiers and Australia's 2015 ODI World Cup-winning team captain Michael Clarke are in the third and fourth positions, respectively. They achieved the feat in 41 and 47 innings, respectively.
#3 Longest reign as No. 1 T20I batter
![Babar Azam acknowledging his milestone vs New Zealand [Getty Images]](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/10/6594b-16973729521629-1920.jpg)
Despite being traditional batters with a huge preference for their sound techniques, both Virat Kohli and Babar Azam have mastered the T20 format as well.
In fact, due to their unreal consistency, both batters have led the ranking charts for a vast period of time. However, Babar boasts a world record of spending the most days as the No. 1 ranked T20I batter.
He surpassed Virat Kohli on the list. Kohli, who was the No. 1 ranked T20I batter for as many as 1,013 days last decade, was dethroned by Babar.
Babar, meanwhile, held the throne for an extended period of time as he became the player to spend the most number of days as the number one T20I batter in the world in ICC rankings.
Babar led the charts for a total of 1,155 days before getting replaced by his own teammate, Mohammad Rizwan. Babar is currently ranked fourth on the T20I charts, while Rizwan is only second to India's Suryakumar Yadav.