LAHORE: Pakistan Men’s Cricket team captain and prolific batter Babar Azam has been conferred with President’s Sitara-i-Imtiaz (Star of Excellence) for his outstanding achievements and services in the game of cricket.
Governor Punjab Muhammad Balighur Rehman conferred the civil award on Babar Azam during the investiture ceremony for Pakistan Civil Awards on Pakistan Day at the Governor’s House her on Thursday. Babar Azam’s parents were also present during the ceremony.
With the conferment of the third highest civil award of the country after ‘Nishan e Haider’ and ‘Hilal-i-Pakistan’, the all format captain Babar Azam became the youngest cricketer to receive the honor at the age of 28.
The other recipients of the award from Pakistan cricket include Javed Miandad, Inzamam ul Haq, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Yousaf, Shahid Khan Afridi, Younis Khan, Misbah ul Haq and Sarfraz Ahmed.
In a tweet, Babar Azam termed the occasion an immense honor to receive Sitara-i-Imtiaz in the presence of his parents.
Other sportsmen including Nooh Dastgir Butt (Weightlifting), Arshad Nadeem (Javelin Throw) and Ahsan Ramzan (Snooker) were bestowed ‘Pride of Performance’ awards while national Kabaddi player Shafique Ahmed Chishti was conferred with ‘Tamgha-i-Imtiaz’ (Medal of Excellence) during the ceremony held to commemorate Pakistan Day 2023.
Earlier, President Pakistan Kabaddi Federation Chaudhary Shafey Hussain was conferred with Sitara-i-Imtiaz for his services to the sport of Kabaddi.