Babar Azam Set To Replace Agha Salman As Pakistan's New T20I Captain

Babar Azam - (Source: AFP)

In a significant development, there are reports that Babar Azam is all set to replace Salman Ali Agha as the next T20I captain. The right-handed batter is all set to return for his 3rd stint as Pakistan’s T20I captain.

The development comes days after Babar Azam was appointed as Pakistan’s Test captain while the PCB named a squad for the upcoming West Indies tests.

Babar Azam Set To Replace Salman Ali Agha in T20Is

A report from NDTV stated that the PCB is considering handing Babar Azam extra responsibility by appointing him as the T20I captain for the 2026-2028 T20 cycle. It will be Azam’s 3rd stint. In his first stint, Pakistan reached the T20 World Cup 2021 semi-finals, but the right-handed batter resigned following the shambolic 2023 ODI World Cup.

Eventually, the 31-year-old returned to lead Pakistan for the 2024 T20 World Cup, but a shambolic campaign forced the PCB to look at Salman Ali Agha as the next captain. However, Salman Agha has struggled to leave a mark with his leadership.

Why Is Babar Azam Replacing Salman Ali Agha?

Under Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan reached the 2025 Asia Cup final, but lost to India thric in that campaign. Further, Pakistan had an embarrassing 2026 T20 World Cup, where they crashed out in the super 8 stage.

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In that event as well, the Men in Green dealt an embarrassing defeat, which further tainted Salman Agha’s reputation as the captain. There were rumours that the PCB is looking for a replacement, but Babar being ahead of everyone else in the pecking order is a shocker for everyone.

How Has Babar Azam Emerged As Pakistan's New T20I Captain?

Babar had a poor T20 World Cup 2026 where he only amassed 91 runs in 4 innings. There were rumours that the right-handed batter might be dropped from the team, but a brilliant PSL changed everything. 

The Pakistan talisman Azam registered 588 runs in 11 innings during PSL 2026 and guided his team to a PSL title. Notably, the 31-year-old missed out by a solitary run to slam the most runs in a single edition of PSL.

Therefore, a brilliant PSL season helped Babar Azam retain his spot in the shortest format of the game.

Babar Azam's Record As Pakistan's T20I Captain

Babar Azam captained Pakistan in 85 Twenty20 International (T20I) matches, winning 48, losing 29, and tying 1, with 7 matches ending in no results. He maintained a strong win percentage of 56.47% and notably led the team to the T20 World Cup semi-finals in 2021 and the final in 2022

Notably, Pakistan don't have any T20I series lined up for the next two months, which allows PCB to take some time and finalise their decision.

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