Most matches in a year, full list: Pakistan captain breaks 18-year-old world record

Salman Agha breaks world record

In 2025, Pakistan have played 54 matches so far – the most by any team – leading the next-best West Indies (45 matches) by a considerable margin. Their T20I captain Agha has featured in all of those games. In fact, Pakistan’s 54 matches this year equal their highest tally in a calendar year, matching their total from 2013.

Agha's most recent outing came in a T20I tri-series match against Zimbabwe on Sunday, with Sri Lanka also part of the competition. Batting first, Pakistan posted 195-5, built around a fluent 74 off 52 from Babar Azam. Agha featured in a lopsided sixth-wicket stand with Fakhar Zaman, managing one off two balls while Zaman blazed 27 not out off 10. Zimbabwe, in response, were dismissed for 126, with Usman Tariq claiming 4-18, including a hat-trick, in just his second international appearance.

Also read: Babar Azam returns from the dark, for himself and for Pakistan

Agha has now set a new benchmark for the most international appearances in a calendar year, having featured in 54 matches so far in 2025. In doing so, he surpassed the previous joint record of 53 matches, shared by Rahul Dravid (1999), Mohammad Yousuf (2000), and MS Dhoni (2007). Notably, three of Dhoni’s appearances were for Asia XI against Africa XI in the 2007 Afro-Asia Cup, during which he struck a 97-ball 139 not out to guide his side to a 3-0 clean sweep.

The milestone of playing more than 50 international matches in a year was first achieved by Sachin Tendulkar in 1997. In the current decade, Daryl Mitchell was the only player to reach the mark before Agha, having featured in 51 matches in 2023.

Most international matches in a calendar year, full list

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