Pakistan skipper Babar Azam has received Pakistan’s third-highest civilian honour — the Sitara-e-Imtiaz.
The ace batter Azam was handed the prestigious award by Governor of Pakistan’s Punjab state Muhammad Baligh on Wednesday, according to information in the Pakistan media.
At just 28 years old Babar Azam becomes the youngest recipient of the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the reports said.
“Immense honour to have received Sitara-e-Imtiaz in the presence of my mother and father,” Babar Azam wrote on Twitter.
“This award is for my parents, fans and the people of (Pakistan),” he added.
After the development, Babar now also joins an esteemed list of former Pakistan cricketers that includes Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Shahid Afridi, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Yousuf, Saeed Ajmal, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq that have been previously awarded the same medal for their contributions to the game.
Notably, the 28-year-old was among 253 personalities that were announced as recipients of civilian awards on August 14 last year but had to till Wednesday to finally collect his medal.