Babar breaks Shahid Afridi’s unwanted T20I record

RAWALPINDI: Star Pakistan batter Babar Azam broke former captain Shahid Afridi’s unwanted record during the first match of the home T20I tri-series against Zimbabwe here at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday.

Babar, who scored a match-winning half-century in the home T20I series decider against South Africa earlier this month, could not stretch his form into the ongoing tri-series as he fell for a three-ball duck. The right-handed batter was outfoxed by Brad Evans’s length delivery, which nipped back sharply after pitching and thudded into his back knee.

With this, the 31-year-old registered his ninth duck in T20Is, going past Afridi on the unwanted list of Pakistan batters, jointly led by Saim Ayub and Umar Akmal.

Most ducks for Pakistan in T20Is

Umar Akmal – 10 ducks in 84 matches

Saim Ayub – 10 ducks in 52* matches

Babar Azam – 9 ducks in 132* matches

Shahid Afridi – 8 ducks in 98 matches

Kamran Akmal – 7 ducks in 58 matches

Mohammad Hafeez – 7 ducks in 119 matches

For the unversed, Babar, who led Pakistan in three editions of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, had gone out of favour in the shortest format after the three-match away series against South Africa in December last year. He ultimately failed to make it to the Pakistan squad for the recently concluded ACC Men’s T20 Asia Cup 2025 as the former champions shifted their focus to grooming youngsters ahead of next year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.

However, following the heartbreak in the eight-team continental tournament, the right-handed batter was called up for the recent home assignment against South Africa, who finished runners-up at the T20 World Cup 2024. Upon his return, the right-handed batter surpassed India’s Rohit Sharma to become the all-time leading run-scorer in T20Is. Web Desk