Overview
- Babar Azam completed 16,000 international runs on Sunday, October 18, 2026 during Pakistan’s opening ODI against Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
- He needed seven runs to reach the mark, got the decisive run on the sixth ball of the fifth over, finished the innings on 45 off 57 deliveries and was dismissed by Eshan Malinga.
- Outlets report the milestone using different speed metrics, with some noting it came in his 355th international match and others counting 399 innings, which places him as the third-fastest Pakistani by innings.
- The achievement makes Babar the fifth Pakistani to cross 16,000 runs, joining Inzamam‑ul‑Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf and Javed Miandad, and sits alongside his status as the men's all-time top T20I run-scorer.
- The tri-series is a seven-match double round‑robin between Pakistan, Sri Lanka and England with a final set for October 31 in Lahore, and the milestone adds context to ongoing selection and form discussions around Babar’s role in Pakistan’s squads.