Cricket team’s skipper Babar Azam was awarded by the third highest civilian government award. He dedicated this Sitara-e-Imtiaz to his parents and fans. Masood Jan and Bisma Maroof are also got acknowledgment for their services in sports.
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.
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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. Masood Jan also got a pride of the performance award for his services in the cricket world.
Babar made his debut in international cricket in May 2015 against Zimbabwe. His performances eventually led to debuts to T20Is and Tests in 2016. In 47 Tests, Babar has scored 3,696 runs with an average of 48.63. While in the 95 ODI Babar scored 4,813 runs at an average of 59.41. In 99 T20Is, Babar has amassed 3,355 runs at an average of 41.41.
Babar Azam’s exceptional skills and leadership qualities have earned him many accolades in the past. Including the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for the ICC Men’s Cricketer of 2022, the ICC ODI Player of the Year award, and being named skipper of the ICC ODI Team of the Year.
Following the ceremony, Mr Azam took to Twitter to share his feelings. “Immense honour to have received Sitara-e-Imtiaz in the presence of my mother and father. This award is for my parents, fans and the people of Pakistan,” reads the tweet.