Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain and the opening batsman for Karachi Kings in Pakistan Super League (PSL), has now become the leading run-scorer in the tournament’s history.
Babar Azam scored 24 runs from 20 balls with three boundaries at the strike-rate of 120. This resulted in him to go pass Peshawar Zalmi’s opening batsman and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal.
Babar begin the tournament at 1,516 runs, 21 runs behind the explosive wicket-keeper batsman Kamran Akmal. Now he is just three runs ahead of the Peshawar Zalmi opener.
In terms of average, Babar betters Kamran with 37.90 as compared to 29. However, the strike-rate which has always been an issue raised by fans and experts, is almost 118. Kamran Akmal’s strike-rate is 138.
Peshawar Zalmi will begin their campaign for PSL 2021 tomorrow against Lahore Qalandars. It is very likely that Kamran Akmal will take over Babar Azam from becoming the leading run-scorer again.
This will be an interesting season between Babar Azam and Kamran Akmal as both opening batsmen will race against each other for leading the runs chart of the whole PSL.
Most Runs in PSL
Now, we will look at the top five leading run-scorers of the HBL PSL seasons.
Note: The (*) indicates that the player is active and is playing the season
1. Babar Azam (Islamabad United, Karachi Kings) – 1540*
Babar Azam, for now, leads the top of the charts. The opening batsman of Karachi Kings have been phenomenal, especially since the 2017 edition where he really kicked off. He was the leading run-scorer in the previous season as well as the “Player of the Tournament” as his team won their maiden title.
2. Kamran Akmal (Peshawar Zalmi) – 1537*
The opening batsman and wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal has been the most prolific run-scorer throughout the seasons of PSL. Just taken over by his cousin by three runs, both Kamran and Babar will battle each other to be the leading run-scorer of the tournament’s history.
3. Shane Watson (Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators) – 1361
Australian all-rounder comes third as the leading run-scorer of the league. At an average of 32 and a strike-rate of 140, he was an excellent batsman for both of his franchises, Islamabad and Quetta. He won both seasons with them.
4. Shoaib Malik (Karachi Kings, Multan Sultans, Peshawar Zalmi) – 1127*
Pakistan’s most prolific run-scorer in T20 cricket, Shoaib Malik comes fourth in the list of the leaders. He averages 31 at a strike-rate of 123 with seven fifties. If his season goes well, he may take over Watson.
5. Ahmed Shehzad (Quetta Gladiators, Multan Sultans) – 1077
Quetta Gladiators’ opener Ahmed Shehzad will not be playing this season after he was not retained. He is fifth in the run-getter list and averages 26 with a strike-rate of 120.
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