In cricket’s ongoing debate over the finest modern batter, Babar Azam has once again offered compelling evidence in his favour. His latest performance in Rawalpindi, a graceful 74 against Zimbabwe, brought him level with Virat Kohli’s record of 38 T20I fifties—a statistic that will inevitably stir fresh discussion.
For years, Kohli has been seen as the defining figure of modern batting: aggressive, charismatic and relentlessly effective. But with Kohli stepping away from T20Is, Babar has quietly but consistently built his own empire of runs. His 4,392 T20I runs already eclipse Kohli’s tally, and he continues to set new benchmarks every season.
Surpassing Tamim Iqbal’s all-format total of 15,249 runs only adds further weight to his credentials. With 15,259 runs from just 334 matches, Babar has demonstrated not only excellence but remarkable efficiency—an attribute often overlooked amid the noise of strike-rate debates.
His tally of 32 centuries and 105 fifties paints the picture of a batter who rarely wastes a start, who plays with a balance of elegance and calculation that is increasingly rare in the high-risk modern game.
Of course, numbers alone cannot settle the Kohli–Babar debate; Kohli’s peak remains unrivalled in many eyes. But if cricket is a story of longevity, adaptability and sustained excellence, then Babar Azam is writing a chapter that may one day rival even the great Indian maestro.
He is not merely chasing records anymore. He is shaping a legacy.