Azhar Ali facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Azhar Ali

Azhar Ali in 2017
Personal information
Born	(1985-02-19) 19 February 1985 (age 40) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Nickname	Ajju
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right arm leg break
Role	Top-order batter
International information
National side	Pakistan (2010–2022)
Test debut (cap 199)	13 July 2010 v Australia
Last Test	17 December 2022 v England
ODI debut (cap 185)	30 May 2011 v Ireland
Last ODI	13 January 2018 v New Zealand
ODI shirt no.	79
Domestic team information
Years	Team
2006–2010	Khan Research Laboratories
2011–2013	Lahore Eagles
2014–2015	Lahore Lions
2016–2017	Lahore Qalandars
2015	Baluchistan
2018–2021	Somerset
2019–2023	Central Punjab
2022–2023	Worcestershire
2023/24	Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited
Career statistics
Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 97 53 262 181 Runs scored 7,142 1,845 16,327 6,674 Batting average 42.26 36.90 39.05 46.34 100s/50s 19/35 3/12 50/69 18/38 Top score 302* 102 302* 132* Balls bowled 867 258 3,682 2,538 Wickets 8 4 51 69 Bowling average 77.62 65.00 45.80 33.79 5 wickets in innings 0 0 0 4 10 wickets in match 0 0 0 0 Best bowling 2/49 2/26 4/34 5/23 Catches/stumpings 66/– 8/– 159/– 53/–
Medal record Men's Cricket Representing  Pakistan ICC Champions Trophy Winner 2017 England & Wales Asia Cup Winner 2012 Bangladesh
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 1 October 2023

Azhar Ali (born 19 February 1985) is a famous Pakistani cricketer who used to play for the Pakistan national team. He even captained the team in both One Day International (ODI) and Test matches. After retiring from playing, Azhar Ali joined the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) as a member of the Men's National Selection Committee. He is now the PCB’s Head of Youth Development, helping to find and train young cricket stars.

Azhar Ali made his first Test match appearance for Pakistan in July 2010 against Australia. He is a right-handed batter and can also bowl a bit of leg breaks. In October 2016, he made history by scoring 302 runs against the West Indies. This was the first time any player scored a century, double century, and triple century in a Day and Night Test match. He also played a big part in Pakistan winning the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy, scoring 59 runs in the final match.

He has played for many different teams in Pakistan, like Khan Research Laboratories and Lahore Qalandars. He also played for clubs in England, such as Somerset and Worcestershire. In November 2018, he stopped playing One Day International cricket, and in December 2022, he retired from Test cricket.

About Azhar Ali

Azhar Ali's father, Muhammad Rafiq, is also an athlete. In 2021, at 76 years old, he won a gold medal in a 21 KM marathon race!

In December 2020, Azhar Ali opened his own cricket academy in Lahore. This academy helps young players learn and improve their cricket skills. His son, Ibtisam Azhar, is also a cricketer and plays as an all-rounder.

Azhar Ali's Cricket Journey

Ali batting for Worcestershire CCC in 2023.

Starting in Cricket

Azhar Ali started playing cricket when he was just 13 years old, mostly as a bowler. He played his first big match, called a first-class match, in 2002 when he was 16. Back then, he was a leg spinner and batted lower down the order.

In 2004, at 19, he moved to Scotland and played for Huntly Cricket Club. This is where he really improved his batting and started opening the innings for his team. He played in Scotland until 2007.

Playing for Teams in Pakistan

After returning to Pakistan, Azhar Ali played regularly for Khan Research Laboratories. He scored many runs, which helped him get selected for the Pakistan A team.

In 2016, he became the captain of Lahore Qalandars in the first ever Pakistan Super League. He played 7 matches and scored 180 runs in that tournament.

Azhar Ali batting for Worcestershire in 2022

In September 2019, he joined the Central Punjab cricket team for the 2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. In December 2023, he scored his 50th century in first-class cricket while playing for Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited.

Playing in England

In July 2018, Azhar Ali joined Somerset in England. He scored a century in his very first match for the team! In February 2022, he also played for Worcestershire.

International Cricket Career

Azhar Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Hassan Ali and other Pakistani cricketers, with Catherine (Duchess of Cambridge) in 2019

In 2010, Azhar Ali was chosen to play for the Pakistan Test team during their tour of England. He made his debut against Australia in July. Even though he didn't score many runs in his first innings, he scored 42 in the second. In the next match against Australia, he scored his first half-century, helping Pakistan win a Test match against Australia after 15 years!

He continued to play well, scoring half-centuries against South Africa in November 2010. He also performed consistently during the tour of New Zealand in January 2011, scoring another half-century.

Success in Sri Lanka

In 2012, Azhar Ali was part of both the ODI and Test teams for the tour of Sri Lanka. He played amazingly in the ODIs, scoring 96 and 81 runs. He then made two centuries in the Test series, scoring 157 and 136 runs. His great batting helped him enter the Top-10 of the ICC Test Rankings for the first time!

Winning the Champions Trophy

Azhar Ali was a key player in Pakistan's victory at the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy. He and Fakhar Zaman made a huge partnership of 118 runs against England, which was the highest opening partnership for Pakistan in Champions Trophy history. In the final against India, they scored another impressive 128 runs together. Pakistan won the final by 180 runs, which was the biggest win margin in an ICC tournament final!

In January 2021, he scored a half-century in a Test match against South Africa in Pakistan.

Leading the Team

After the previous captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, retired from ODIs, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chose Azhar Ali to be the new captain. This was a big decision because Azhar hadn't played ODI cricket for almost two years!

Early Captaincy Challenges

In April 2015, Pakistan played an ODI series against Bangladesh under Azhar Ali's captaincy. Pakistan lost all three matches, which was their first series loss to Bangladesh. However, Azhar Ali himself played well, scoring 62 and his first ever ODI century (101 runs).

Later that year, Zimbabwe toured Pakistan. Under Azhar's captaincy, Pakistan won the three-match ODI series 2–0. He scored his second ODI century in front of his home crowd in Lahore.

Leading to Success

Pakistan's chances of qualifying for the ICC Champions Trophy improved greatly when they won a series in Sri Lanka after nine years! Azhar Ali scored the most runs in this series and became the fastest Pakistani batsman to reach 1000 ODI runs, doing it in just 21 matches.

In August 2016, Pakistan toured England. Azhar Ali scored 139 runs in a Test match. However, the ODI series was tough, and Pakistan lost 4–1. Despite the team's struggles, Azhar Ali scored 208 runs in 5 innings, including two scores of 80 and 82.

Captaincy Highlights

In 2016, Pakistan played against the West Indies in the UAE. Pakistan won the ODI series, and Azhar Ali scored his third ODI century, becoming the first Pakistani captain to score three centuries while leading the team. Pakistan also won the Test series 2–1, and Azhar Ali scored an amazing 300 runs in the first Test match!

He was also named in Cricinfo's Test XI of the year 2016.

Stepping Down as Captain

During the Australia tour in 2016, Azhar Ali scored a double century (205 runs) in a Test match in Melbourne. This was the highest Test score by a Pakistani player in Australia at that time. However, after the ODI series loss to Australia, Azhar Ali decided to step down as the ODI captain in February 2017.

In October 2019, Azhar Ali was named the captain of Pakistan's Test team for their tour to Australia. In June 2020, he led the Test team during their tour to England. In the final Test of that series, he reached a big milestone, scoring his 6,000th run in Test cricket.

Azhar Ali's Centuries

Azhar Ali has scored 19 centuries in Test matches and three centuries in One Day International (ODI) matches. His highest score in Test matches was 302 runs, which he scored against the West Indies in October 2016. His highest score in ODIs was 102 runs against Zimbabwe in May 2015.

Test centuries

No.	Score	Against	Pos.	Inn.	Test	Venue	H/A/N	Date	Result	Ref
1	&10000000000001000000000 100	Sri Lanka	3	2	2/3	Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai	Neutral	26 October 2011	Won
2	&10000000000001570000000 157	England	3	3	3/3	Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai	Neutral	3 February 2012	Won
3	&10000000000001571000000 157	Sri Lanka	3	1	2/3	Sinhalese Sports Club Ground, Colombo	Away	30 June 2012	Drawn
4	&10000000000000136000000 136	Sri Lanka	3	3	3/3	Pallekele International Cricket Stadium, Kandy	Away	8 July 2012	Drawn
5	&10000000000001030000000 103	Sri Lanka	3	4	3/3	Sharjah Cricket Association Stadium, Sharjah	Neutral	16 January 2014	Won
6	&10000000000001090000000 109	Australia	3	1	2/2	Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Neutral	30 October 2014	Won
7	&10000000000001000000000 100*	Australia	3	3
8	&10000000000002260000000 226	Bangladesh	3	1	2/2	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka	Away	6 May 2015	Won
9	&10000000000001170000000 117	Sri Lanka	3	3	2/3	Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu Stadium, Colombo	Away	25 June 2015	Lost
10	&10000000000001390000000 139	England	3	2	3/4	Edgbaston, Birmingham	Away	3 August 2016	Lost
11	&10000000000003020000000 302*	West Indies	2	1	1/3	Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai	Neutral	13 October 2016	Won
12	&10000000000002050000000 205*	Australia	2	1	2/3	Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne	Away	26 December 2016	Lost
13	&10000000000001050000000 105	West Indies	1	2	2/3	Kensington Oval, Bridgetown	Away	30 April 2017	Lost
14	&10000000000001270000000 127	West Indies	1	1	3/3	Windsor Park, Roseau	Away	10 May 2017	Won
15	&10000000000001340000000 134	New Zealand	3	2	3/3	Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Neutral	3 December 2018	Lost
16	&10000000000001180000000 118	Sri Lanka	3	3	3/3	National Stadium, Karachi	Home	19 December 2019	Won
17	&10000000000001415000000 141*	England	3	2	3/3	Rose Bowl, Southampton	Away	21 August 2020	Drawn
18	&10000000000001260000000 126	Zimbabwe	3	1	2/2	Harare Sports Club, Harare	Away	7 May 2021	Won
19	&10000000000001850000000 185	Australia	3	1	1/3	Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi	Home	4 March 2022	Drawn

ODI centuries

No.	Score	Against	Pos.	Inn.	S/R	Venue	H/A/N	Date	Result	Ref
1	&10000000000001010000000 101	Bangladesh	1	1	90.17	Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium, Dhaka	Away	22 April 2015	Lost
2	&10000000000001020000000 102	Zimbabwe	1	2	98.07	Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore	Home	29 May 2015	Won
3	&10000000000001011000000 101	West Indies	1	1	92.66	Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi	Neutral	5 October 2016	Won