Eng vs Pak: Major milestones awaited! Pakistan captain Babar Azam nears Rohit, Kohli’s all-time T20I records
Babar Azam and Virat Kohli
Pakistan are set to lock horns with England in a four-match T20I series, in England, starting on May 22 (Wednesday). This will be the final preparations for both the sides as they head into the 2024 T20 World Cup dueto kickoff in West Indies and USA in June. Ahead of the series opener, all eyes are on Pakistan's white-ball skipper Babar Azam.
If Pakistan have to strengthen their T20 WC preparations and win the series versus Jos Buttler & Co., Babar will have to be among runs from the first game itself. The right-hander played a blinder in his side's 2-1 T20I series win over Ireland before heading to the United Kingdom. Ahead of the first game, to be held atHeadingley, Leeds on Wednesday, here are a plethora of records, owned by Indian superstars Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, which can be broken by Babar in the four-match seriesm, and the numbers needed by him to script history:
45 – Babaris just 45 runs short of becoming only the third batter to enter the 4000-run clubin T20Is.Kohli and Suzie Bates (of New Zealand) are the other batters to have achieved this feat.
20 - The Pakistan skipper needs 20 more runs to overtake current Indian captainRohitas the second-highest run-scorer in the shortest format. Hitmanhas3,974 runs from 151 T20Is -- second-most after Kohli.
83 - Babaris 83 runs away frombecomingthe all-time leading run-scorer in men’s T20Is. Kohli's tally currently is4,037 runs from 117 T20Is.
48- Babaralso needs 48 runs to become the all-time leading run-scorer in T20Is versus two-time T20 WC winner England. At present,Kohli holds the record, amassing639 runs from 20 games.
95 – The 29-year-old Pakistani starneeds 95 runs to become the highest run-getter among away batters in T20Is on English soil. Australia's T20 WC-winning skipperAaron Finch is therecord-holder at the moment;370 runs in six T20Is at a whoppingaverage of 61.66.
Babar will be eager to make the most of the four-match series versus England and attain all these records before entering the T20 WC. However, it won't be easy against the current T20 WC champions England in their own soil.
After this series, the Men in Green will move towards the T20 WC -- without any warm-up games -- where they are placed in Group A along with India, USA, Canada and Ireland. Their marquee encounter versus Team India is on June 9 in New York.