 "Pakistan captain Salman Agha speaks to team manager ahead of match against UAE. Image: AFP")
Pakistan’s T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha has kept his place as captain, even after his team suffered three back-to-back losses against India in the recently concluded Asia Cup 2025. According to reports in local media, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is worried about his form and wants to review his captaincy, but the selectors and coach are backing him.
In the Asia Cup T20, Pakistan managed to reach the final despite some scratchy performances and also lost three times to arch-rivals India, including in the summit clash. Salman’s batting was poor throughout the event as he scored only 72 runs in seven matches, with an average of 12 and a strike rate of 80.89. Some PCB officials were also unhappy with his decisions in the tournament.
Salman Agha to remain captain thanks to SKY?
As per the Pakistani media, the PCB is concerned about Salman’s form and wants to discuss his captaincy. However, reports claim that the selectors and head coach Mike Hesson want Salman to stay in his position and give the team more time. The PCB reportedly thought about giving the captaincy back to Shaheen Shah Afridi, but Hesson and selectors opposed it.
They also decided not to bring Babar Azam back into the squad, saying young players should continue to get opportunities. Babar and Mohammad Rizwan were dropped from the T20 team before the Asia Cup due to their poor strike rate with the bat. It has been reported that the PCB wanted to send a senior batter to the UAE during the Asia Cup as Pakistan were struggling, but squad changes were allowed only in case of injuries.
Salman has led Pakistan in 30 T20 matches, winning 17 and losing 13. He has scored 557 runs, including four fifties. When his performance was discussed in the recent meeting, selectors defended him by comparing him with India’s Suryakumar Yadav, who also scored just 72 runs in the Asia Cup.
It appears that the PCB will give Salman a free hand until the next T20 World Cup, which is scheduled to be held in India and Sri Lanka.