Babar Azam has surged to the top of the T20I run-scoring chart by getting past Rohit Sharma. Babar remained unbeaten on 11 as Pakistan secured a comprehensive nine-wicket win against the Proteas in the second T20I on October 31.
The brief stay at the crease in Lahore meant Babar's tally grew to 4234 runs in 130 matches (123 innings). He took 28 innings fewer to go past Rohit's tally of 4231. Rohit and Kohli, standing at second and third in the list as of November 1, already announced their retirement
from the shortest format in 2024.
Most runs in T20Is:
| Player | Matches | Innings | Runs |
| Babar Azam | 130 | 123 | 4234 |
| Rohit Sharma | 159 | 151 | 4231 |
| Virat Kohli | 125 | 117 | 4188 |
| Jos Buttler | 144 | 132 | 3869 |
| Paul Stirling | 153 | 150 | 3710 |
Babar was dismissed for a two-ball duck in the T20I series-opening clash a few days back. He registered 11 off 18 with a boundary to his name in the subsequent match while Saim Ayub amassed 71* off 38 under his belt as Pakistan posted the win to level the series.
For the unversed, the ongoing series marks an international comeback for Babar in T20I cricket. He previously played a T20I fixture way back in December 2024. Interestingly, the match was also against South Africa but iaway from home.
He had been sidelined from the T20I setup in early 2025 due to poor form. Babar, along with Mohammed Rizwan, were not included in Pakistan's T20I squad for the Asia Cup 2025 and the series preceding the subcontinental tournament.
The touring outfit won the first T20I comprehensively by 55 runs. George Linde was awarded the Player of the Match award for his all-round display (36 off 22 and 3/31 in 3 overs). The Green Shirts fought back well in the second match. The series-deciding fixture will be played on Sunday, November 1 while three ODIs will follow the 20-over leg of the series.
