On August 8, 2025, Pakistan’s star batter Babar Azam will aim to achieve two significant milestones during the first One-Day International (ODI) against the West Indies at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad, starting at 11:00 PM PST.
The 30-year-old player is just one century away from matching Saeed Anwar’s record of 20 ODI centuries for Pakistan. If he succeeds, he could also become the second-fastest player in the world to reach 20 centuries, behind only Hashim Amla.
Babar, with 19 centuries in 131 matches (128 innings), needs one more ton to match Anwar’s 20 centuries in 247 matches. This milestone would cement his status among Pakistan’s batting elite, surpassing Mohammad Yousuf (15 centuries), Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Hafeez (11 each). His efficiency, achieving this in fewer innings, underscores his dominance in ODI cricket.
Pakistan Shaheens head coach Imran Farhat reviews the team's tour of England, where they played three one-day matches and two three-day games 🏏
Read more ➡️ https://t.co/hBAOG2MyiJ#PakistanShaheens pic.twitter.com/NltmTYEF7M
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 6, 2025Additionally, Babar is poised to overtake Virat Kohli’s record as the second-fastest to 20 ODI centuries, achieved in 133 innings. If he scores a century within his next four innings, Babar will surpass Kohli, trailing only Amla’s 108 innings. Other notable players, like AB de Villiers (175 innings) and Rohit Sharma (183 innings), highlight the elite company Babar is joining.
The first ODI marks Babar’s return to competitive form after his exclusion from Pakistan’s T20I squad following a lacklustre 2024 T20 World Cup. His performance in this series, continuing with matches on August 10 and 12, could influence his potential T20I comeback for the 2025 Asia Cup or a tri-nation series with the UAE and Afghanistan. Babar’s consistency remains key for Pakistan’s batting lineup.
