The milestone came during the third and final ODI against South Africa at Iqbal Stadium. Babar achieved it when he gently worked Bjorn Fortuin for a single towards wide mid-on to score his 23rd run of the innings.

With that single, the 31-year-old took his total to 15,000 international runs, joining an elite list of Pakistani greats — Inzamam-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, and Javed Miandad.

Among these legends, Inzamam-ul-Haq leads with 20,541 runs in 547 innings, followed by Younis Khan with 17,790, Mohammad Yousuf with 17,134, and Javed Miandad with 16,213. Babar now stands fifth with 15,004 runs in 370 innings.

Read more: Abrar and Ayub shine as Pakistan crush South Africa to seal ODI series

Although Babar reached the milestone, his innings ended in disappointment. He was run out for 27 off 32 balls, which included five boundaries, at a time when Pakistan was rebuilding after losing opener Fakhar Zaman for a second consecutive duck.

The crowd at Faisalabad, however, cheered Babar’s achievement as he became the fastest Pakistani to reach 15,000 runs, highlighting his consistency across all formats of the game.

Babar Azam’s milestone cements his place among Pakistan’s cricketing greats. While his innings was short, the achievement proves his class and long-term consistency. With age on his side, Babar could soon challenge Pakistan’s all-time run leaders and continue inspiring a new generation of cricketers.