Star Pakistan batsman Babar Azam's stature as one of the best in the world currently continued to grow as he went past the likes of Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle and become the fastest to score 7,000 T20 runs. The Pakistan captain achieved this unique and impressive feat while batting for Central Punjab against Southern Punjab in a National T20 Cup match in Rawalpindi. Azam thus ended up achieving this record in a total of 187 innings, surpassing Kohli and Gayle, who took 192 and 212 innings respectively.Babar Azam Overtakes Virat Kohli After Slamming Sixth Century in T20 Cricket During Central Punjab vs Northern, National T20 Cup 2021

See Pakistan Cricket Board's tweet here:

The 26-year old scored a stylish 59 to help Central Punjab beat Southern Punjab and he registered this achievement when he went past 25 runs. Kohli, who is now third in this list, recently became the first Indian batsman to score 10,000 T20 runs while representing Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the ongoing Indian Premier League 2021 in the UAE. For the record, his side has already qualified for the playoffs of the premier T20 tournament, with two matches left.

With this record, Azam becomes the third batsman from his country and 30th overall to have scored 7,000 runs in T20 cricket. The other two Pakistanis to achieve this milestone are veterans Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez. Pakistan would hope that he maintains this form when they face India in the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup, starting October 17.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 04, 2021 02:08 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).