Pakistan cricket team’s captain for all formats, Babar Azam, has been honored with the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the country’s third-highest civilian award. The award was presented to Babar during a Pakistan Day ceremony held at the Governor House Punjab on Thursday. At the age of 28, Babar became the youngest cricketer from Pakistan to receive the Sitara-e-Imtiaz.
Several renowned Pakistani cricketers such as Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal, Muhammad Yousuf, Inzimam Ul Haq, and Javed Miandad have also received the same award in the past.
The Governor of Punjab, Balighur Rehaman, presented the award to Babar Azam at the Civil Award Ceremony held at Governor House on the occasion of March 23. Babar expressed his gratitude for the honor and dedicated it to his parents, fans, and the people of Pakistan in a tweet.
Furthermore, Bismah Maroof, a player of the Pakistan women’s cricket team, was also awarded the Tamagha-i-Imtiaz by President Arif Avi in a ceremony held at Aiwan-i-Sadar, Islamabad.
It shall be noted that Babar and Bismah were among 14 athletes conferred with Presidents’ civil awards for their outstanding achievements in the field of sports. The list includes Commonwealth Games gold medalists Arshad Nadeem and Muhammad Nooh Dastagir, Jahangir Khan (squash), Ch. Shafay Hussain (Kabaddi), Shafiq Ahmed Chishti (Kabaddi), Sirbaz Khan (Mountaineering), Ahsan Ramzan (Snooker), Masood Jan (Blind Cricket), Amina Wali (Skiing), Abdul Karim (Mountaineer/ Porter), Irfan Mehsood (Martial Arts) and Ms Shahida (Karate).
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