Salman Agha Promises ‘Fearless & Aggressive’ Cricket as Pakistan’s New T20I Captain

The newly appointed T20I skipper of Pakistan, Salman Agha has promised to bring in a ‘big-hitting, high-risk’ approach to the side that is in tandem with the modern game.

Agha, who was appointed initially as the replacement of Mohammad Rizwan for the white-ball series in New Zealand, is the fourth T20I captain of Pakistan since January 2024, having taken the baton from Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Rizwan.

Due to Pakistan’s poor performance in the past few series as well as in the T20 World Cup, where they were dumped out in the first round, the PCB has decided to bring in new faces changing a lot of players and the captain.

This change in the playing style of Pakistan spins the cricket-balls by using anti-corruption laws making it really difficult for the opponent to gain a victory.

Some notable omissions include the side’s vice-captain Babar Azam and wicketkeeper-batsman Mohammad Rizwan whose slow approach regarding batting has also been at times frowned upon. Although, PCB has continuously mentioned that the door for them in international cricket is still open but it can be apparent that both of them have been omitted rather than being given a break.

“It is my privilege and a sign of hardship,” Agha remarked this during a press conference held in Lahore.

📢 “The plan has been to introduce young players who are aggressive in their approach while playing domestic cricket and the current management is looking forward to having the same approach by the national team”.

He further stated that the intention and strategy requires enhancement needed to play high risk cricket as he said, “High-risk cricket is the requirement of modern T20 cricket.” Again, there will be some failures in the team, but we have to support our players.”

Strategic Vision: Building for the Future

This aspect underlines that PCB has long-term planning as the main idea for appointing Agha as a captain and taking into account that

✅ The upcoming T20 Asia Cup

✅ The T20 World Cup in 2026 (India & Sri Lanka)

To ensure this change, the aggressive player and former vice-captain Shadab Khan has been called from the sideline to replace the current vice-captain.

In an interview given to media source, former PCB chief selector Aaqib Javed said, “Shadab has good captaincy experience and he has the same aggressive thinking like Agha.”

As the senior players are concerned they have to re-establish themselves and prove the coach that they still worth being in the team.

As for Babar Azam, Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi not making it to the initial squad, Aaqib Javed was candid.

😩 “There is a new system of play which has emerged and many team has different teams for different conditions. This is our transition phase.”

He particularly emphasised the need for Babar and Rizwan to go back for domestic cricket in order to master the game and also added that they should play four day cricket so that they can enhance the Test and the ODI formats.

With regard to Pakistan, the exclusion of Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi also from the ODI squad means the kind of change the team needs which they have tried to bring.

Long-Term Stability: The Key to Success

Agha was keen to make a point that over the next 18 months, Pakistan must cultivate a pool 20-25 players which remains the teams core in Tests.

However, Aaqib also said that there have been certain recent tensions in Pakistan cricket due to which the situation of cricket is not good, citing:

🔹 16 coaching changes

🔹 26 selectors in the last two years

“With such a score, we cannot discuss the possibility of the team’s success,” he said.

📢 When there is uncertainty coming from the Presidency, improvement is going to be a challenge.

Again, with a new captain, new faces, and a new blueprint, Pakistan wants to reset itself in the shorter form of the game now.