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Salman Agha: ‘I’ve learnt how to put captaincy away when I go to bat’
Pakistan’s new-look T20I side land in the Caribbean this week with more matches under their belt than any other Full Member since the last World Cup – 47 in total, wins in 27 of them, and enough bumps in the road to fill a travel diary. Multiple captains have come and gone, coaches too, yet a measure of stability has emerged under Agha, the 32-year-old all-rounder who took charge in March.
Speaking on the eve of Pakistan’s opener against the Netherlands, Agha kept the conversation simple. As a batter, he said, freedom is the watchword.
“I used to go with [into] batting as a captain, but now, I’m not. I’m just going as a batter, [to] just go and express myself and enjoy the game,” he explained, leaning back in his chair. “So I think I’ve learnt how to put that captaincy away when I go to bat and it’s certainly [changed] my technique as well. But I think mostly it’s mindset.”
Those numbers back him up. In the last three months he has peeled off 258 runs – almost a third of his career haul – at a strike-rate nudging 171. A brief lull in the tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – “scores of 1, 0, and 1*” as he put it – forced a period of self-assessment.
“I think there was a time between tri-nation series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe – maybe a month or so – for me to analyse my game… I was not doing well in T20s. I was doing well in Test matches and one-dayers, but I was not able to bring that game to T20s.”
That adjustment has coincided with Pakistan winning six of their last eight bilateral series, topped off by a 3-0 sweep of Australia in Lahore earlier this month. The resurgence has lifted confidence, though, typically, Agha played it down. He knows the margins in T20 cricket are thin; he also knows the top order, traditionally Pakistan’s strength, has looked brittle.
Babar Azam is the obvious talking point. He was left out for ten months after the 2024 World Cup and has returned with a strike-rate of just 117.01 across 11 innings. Fakhar Zaman, explosive on his day, has a top score of ten in his last five knocks. Asked, flat-out, whether either could be dropped, Agha did not swerve.
“We’ll only play who [is] the best for the team,” he said. “Fakhar in the last ten years has done amazingly well, same [with] Babar, and I support them fully. But what’s best for the team is what we’ll play.”
Yet he also offered an olive branch to his senior partner.
“He has been working on his game, because he knows he needs to up his game,” Agha said. “Which is good. If the batter knows and he’s trying, that’s all you can do. And he’s a very, very key player for us in these conditions. Because he’s someone who will give us stability, that’s what his role is going to be… If he’s in form and scoring runs, Pakistan will mostly win games.”
It is a fair assessment. Caribbean pitches can slow up, and a player capable of batting deep at a run-a-ball and accelerating late still matters here. Babar’s issue, analysts suggest, is less technique than tempo; strike rotation in the middle overs has lagged, making boundary hitting at the end harder. If the Dutch bowlers tuck him up early, Agha may need to make a quick, cold decision.
Selection aside, Pakistan’s recent workload is striking. Since the end of the last World Cup no other Full Member has played as many T20Is. Partly, this was by design: plenty of fixtures to blood youngsters and stress-test the depth chart. Partly, though, it reflects an unsettled set-up. Shadab Khan, Shaheen Afridi and even Mohammad Rizwan have captained at different times; former Australia batter Michael Di Venuto now leads the back-room staff, with Saqlain Mushtaq returning as spin consultant. The dressing-room atmosphere is said to be calmer – one senior player called it “straightforward, no drama” – but the proof, as ever, arrives when the first ball is bowled.
Netherlands, on paper, look the softest group opponent, yet Pakistan know better than to coast. They lost an ODI to this same opposition in 2022, and the Dutch seamers, led by Logan van Beek, enjoy exploiting early-morning nibble. The day before the game, Agha, arms folded, dismissed talk of extra pressure.
“You get one point for a win, none for a loss, doesn’t matter who you play,” he shrugged. “We respect every side. Our plans are clear; we just have to execute.”
Weather could intrude – showers are forecast in Guyana – which raises the value of the powerplay. Pakistan have tended to start cautiously then surge. A truncated match may demand a gear-shift sooner, a factor that could favour hitters such as Saim Ayub or Azam Khan. Either might squeeze into the XI if selectors decide additional firepower trumps stature.
Former Pakistan opener Ramiz Raja, speaking on television this week, urged patience with Babar but hinted the leadership group must be brave: “There’s a World Cup to win, not reputations,” he said.
For now Agha carries that burden lightly. His own numbers are ticking over, his words are measured, and, crucially, he believes the side have learnt from past missteps.
“We can’t control everything,” he said, an echo of many captains before him. “But we can turn up with energy, clear roles, and back whoever’s out there.”
Whether that “whoever” includes Babar and Fakhar tomorrow remains the biggest talking point. Either way, the sense is decisions will be made, not drifted into, and that may prove the clearest sign yet of Pakistan’s new direction.
