Azhar Ali
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Former Cricketer (Batsman)
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19 February 1985 (Tuesday) (Kot Radha Kishan, Punjab, Pakistan)
height
Height
5' 11" (180 cm)
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Age
39
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Nation
Pakistani
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Basic Information
Date of Birth: 19 February 1985 (Tuesday)
Birthplace: Kot Radha Kishan, Punjab, Pakistan
Zodiac Sign: Aquarius
Nationality: Pakistani
Hometown: Lahore, Pakistan
Family & Relationships
Marital Status: Married
Spouse: Naila Azhar
Children: Sons- 3 • Ibtisam Azhar (cricketer) • Azan Ali • Azlan Ali
Lifestyle
Religion: Islam Azhar Ali's Instagram Post
Food Habit: Non-vegetarian Azhar Ali's Instagram Post
person_book Biography
Some Lesser Known Facts About Azhar Ali
- Azhar Ali grew up in Lahore, Pakistan.
A childhood picture of Azhar Ali
- Muhammad Rafiq, his father, is an athlete who has participated in various marathons.
- His son, Ibtisam Azhar, is also a cricketer, playing as an all-rounder.
- When Azhar Ali was 13 years old, he began playing cricket and focussed on bowling.
A childhood picture of Azhar Ali
- He debuted in first-class cricket in 2002 when he was 16 years old and played as a leg spinner.
- At first, Azhar Ali batted in ninth position but later moved up to number eight while playing for Khan Research Laboratories.
- At 19, in 2004, he moved to Scotland and joined the Huntly Cricket Club. During his time at Huntly, he improved his batting skills and often opened the batting.
- Azhar Ali played cricket in Scotland from 2004 to 2007.
An old picture of Azhar Ali while playing a Test match
- After returning to Pakistan, he played regularly for Khan Research Laboratories.
- In the 2007-2008 season, Azhar Ali scored 503 runs at an average of 50.25. In the 2008-2009 season, he scored 788 runs at an average of 35, including notable performances in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final.
- Due to his performance, he was chosen for the Pakistan A cricket team’s tours of Australia and Sri Lanka.
- In July 2010, when Azhar Ali was selected for the Test Team of Pakistan, he became one of the few Pakistani Cricketers to play a Test before making his ODI debut.
- In 2010, he returned to Scotland to play for the Huntly club. During the same time, the Pakistan cricket team was set to tour England, and he was selected for the Test cricket series.
An old picture of Azhar Ali while playing while playing for Huntly club
- Azhar Ali was brought into the team for the Test series against Australia and England in July 2010 due to the absence of experienced players like Younus Khan and Mohammad Yousuf. He debuted against Australia and scored 17 runs in the first innings and 42 in the second. Pakistan lost the series.
- After that, in the second Test against Australia, he scored 30 runs in the first innings. His first half-century in the second innings contributed to Pakistan’s first Test victory over Australia in fifteen years.
- Azhar Ali then faced difficulties in the first two Tests against England.
- Mohammad Yousuf was brought back into the team after these struggles, and Umar Amin lost his place, but Ali was given another chance. In the third Test, he scored 92 runs.
- Azhar Ali continued in the Test team for the series against South Africa in November 2010.
- In the first Test, he scored half-centuries in both innings and played an important role in helping Pakistan avoid defeat in a tough chase of 451 runs. He formed a partnership with Younus Khan in the fourth innings.
Azhar Ali in partnership with Younis Khan
- In the second Test, Azhar Ali scored 90 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, he played with captain Misbah-ul-Haq and faced 135 deliveries unbeaten to secure another draw for Pakistan.
- Ali’s performances against South Africa, combined with his experience against England and Australia, earned him a place in the Pakistan Test team for the two-match series against New Zealand in January 2011.
- In 2012, Ali was selected for both the ODI and Test squads for the Sri Lankan tour.
- He scored 96 runs in the 2nd ODI and an unbeaten 81 runs in the 4th ODI. After Saeed Anwar, he became the second Pakistani to carry his bat through an innings. He ended the series as the highest run-scorer of Pakistan.
- In the 2nd Test, Azhar Ali scored his fourth Test century, finishing with 157 runs in the first innings.
- He then scored 136 runs in the second innings.
- His scores in innings helped him enter the Top-10 of ICC Test Rankings for the first time, joining Graeme Smith on 753 points.
- In a match against England, Azhar Ali and Fakhar Zaman’s partnership of 118 runs became the highest in Champions Trophy history for Pakistan and the highest opening partnership in an ODI since 2009.
- In August 2016, Pakistan toured England and Ireland. Azhar Ali scored 139 against England in Birmingham; however, Pakistan lost the match. He scored 30 runs in the final Test at the Oval and ended the Test series at 2-2. He finished as the second-highest run-scorer for Pakistan.
- The next ODI series for Pakistan in England marked one of the worst in the country’s history. Azhar Ali led his team to a 4-1 defeat. Pakistan scored 169 runs, and England scored a world-record 444 runs in an innings.
- During the same series, Ali scored 208 runs in 5 innings, with two scores of 80 and 82, which made him the second-highest run-scorer for Pakistan in that series.
- Ali then faced criticism for his captaincy and low personal scoring rate during the England series. It was rumoured that he would step down as captain of the Pakistan ODI team, but he dismissed all the rumours and expressed his commitment to continue as a captain.
- Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and his coach Mickey Arthur supported him, and he was retained as the ODI skipper for the series against West Indies in the UAE.
- In 2016, Pakistan continued their winning move against West Indies and secured a 3-0 victory in the T20 series. After that, Pakistan also won the ODI series against West Indies.
- In the first ODI, Pakistan won by 111 runs and marked the fourth-highest winning margin against West Indies by Pakistan.
- Babar Azam made history by scoring three consecutive centuries and led Pakistan to win in the second match by 59 runs.
- Azhar Ali achieved his third ODI hundred in the third match of the series and became the first Pakistani captain to score three centuries while leading the team.
- Thereafter, Pakistan won the Test series by 2-1, and Azhar Ali scored 300 runs in the first Test match.
- In 2016, during the Australia tour, he faced difficulties in the ODI series. He scored 37 runs in three matches as Pakistan lost the series by 4-1. However, he performed well in the Test series and scored a double century in the second Test match in Melbourne.
- This double century is recorded as the highest Test score by a Pakistani player in Australia and the second-highest Test score by a visiting player at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
- In the 1st edition of the Pakistan Super League, he was appointed captain of Lahore Qalandars in 2016.
Azhar Ali while playing for Lahore Qalandars
- Azhar Ali then became the captain of Lahore Qalandars in the first Pakistan Super League. He played 7 matches and scored 180 runs in the tournament.
- His contributions as a batsman and captain were below expectations during the ODI series. Therefore, he resigned from the ODI captaincy in February 2017.
- In July 2018, Azhar Ali joined Somerset for the last seven matches of the County Championship season. He scored a century in his debut match for Somerset against Worcestershire.
Azhar Ali while playing for Somerset
- In September 2019, he was selected for Central Punjab’s team for the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament. He was retained in Central Punjab’s team for the 2020-21 domestic season.
- In October 2019, before Pakistan’s tour to Australia, Sarfaraz Ahmed was removed as captain due to Pakistan’s poor performance, and Azhar Ali was named as the captain in the Test series.
- In June 2020, Azhar Ali was named as the Test captain for Pakistan’s tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic. He was later included in Pakistan’s 20-man team for the Test matches against England.
- In the third and final Test of the series, he reached a milestone by scoring his 6,000th run in Test cricket.
- Batsman Asad Shafiq was also selected along with Azhar Ali.
- In the first match, Azhar Ali scored 18 runs in the first innings and did not get to bat in the second innings as Pakistan won by 10 wickets. In the second match, Ali scored his sixth half-century.
- In December 2020, Azhar Ali started a cricket academy titled Azhar Ali Cricket Academy (AACA) in Valencia, a town in Lahore, Pakistan.
The logo of Azhar Ali Cricket Academy (AACA)
- In January 2021, he was named in Pakistan’s 17-man team for their home Test series against South Africa. He scored a half-century in the first Test before being dismissed for 51.
- After Misbah-ul-Haq retired from ODIs, Azhar Ali was appointed as the captain of the Pakistani ODI team. This decision faced opposition, but Ali led the team to success.
- In April, Pakistan was defeated by Bangladesh under his captaincy. It was Pakistan’s first ODI series against Bangladesh, and they lost all three matches.
- This defeat marked Pakistan’s first series loss to Bangladesh.
- The Zimbabwe tour to Pakistan, after six years, was successful for Ali’s team as they won the three-match ODI series 2-0. Ali scored his second ODI century on his home ground during the second ODI.
- During Pakistan’s tour to Sri Lanka, during the ICC Champions Trophy, they won the series against Sri Lanka after nine years. The last victory in Sri Lanka was in 2006 under the leadership of Inzamam Ul Haq.
- In Sri Lanka, he became the fastest Pakistani batsman to reach 1000 ODI runs and achieved this milestone in 21 innings.
- In 2021, at 76, his father won a gold medal in Sheikhupura’s 21 km marathon race.
Azhar Ali posing with his father while running in a marathon
- In February 2022, Worcestershire signed Azhar Ali as a replacement for Matthew Wade for the 2022 county championship.
- In December 2023, he was named to Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited’s cricket team for the President’s Trophy.
- On 4 January 2024, Azhar Ali scored his 50th century in first-class cricket against Khan Research Laboratories.
- His performance in domestic cricket for Khan Research Laboratories earned him 2 centuries and 2 fifties in 5 matches.
- Azhar Ali is a fitness enthusiast and goes to the gym regularly. He often shares pictures of his workout sessions on social media.
Azhar Ali while working out at a gym
- He is an environmentalist. He often participates in various tree plantation drives in Pakistan.
Azhar Ali while planting a sapling
- Azhar Ali is often spotted enjoying alcoholic beverages on various occasions.
Azhar Ali while enjoying an alcoholic beverage
- He likes travelling to distant places in his free time.
Azhar Ali posing during a trip
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