Pakistan’s Sufiyan Muqeem has set a world record for the highest score by a No. 12 batsman in international cricket. He achieved this feat on Wednesday in Hamilton, New Zealand.
Batting at No. 12 in international cricket is not uncommon. The cricket world first witnessed a No. 12 batter in 2019 when the ICC introduced the concussion substitute rule in August of that year. Under this rule, if a player suffers a concussion due to a head injury, a like-for-like replacement can take their place in the game.
The first player to score runs as a No. 12 batsman was Fazalhaq Farooqi. In March 2023, during the third T20I against Pakistan in Sharjah, the Afghan pacer remained unbeaten on 1. Three months later, in a Test match against Bangladesh in Mirpur, Afghanistan’s Zahir Khan scored 4 runs with a boundary, which remained the highest score by a No. 12 batter until today.
However, Sufiyan Muqeem has now broken that record. After coming in at No. 12, he scored 13 runs off 10 balls, including a four and a six.
The opportunity for this record arose when Pakistan’s Haris Rauf was hit on the helmet by a bouncer from Will O’Rourke while chasing the target. Rauf had to leave the field immediately, and Naseem Shah came in as a concussion substitute. Since Naseem took a higher spot in the batting order, Muqeem was pushed down to No. 12, where he created history with his innings.
