Babar Azam & Salman Ali Agha during 2026 T20 WC. Credits - AFP
Pakistan had an embarrassing exit from the 2026 T20 World Cup last month, when the one-time Champions bowed out of the tournament after failing to qualify for the semifinal. Throughout the event, the Men in Green played woeful cricket under Salman Ali Agha's leadership.
Apart from Sahibzada Farhan, who broke the Virat Kohli grand record with 383 runs in the tournament, the whole Pakistan contingent was below par, to say the least.
Currently, the Pakistani cricketers are busy playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL 2026), which is played in the T20 format. However, the main talking point has become the ODI World Cup 2027, which will be played in October-November next year in the African continent.
With the next ICC event still a year and a half away, the Pakistan board has started laying its blueprint, beginning with Shaheen Afridi’s appointment before the Bangladesh tour last month.
Salman Ali Agha to leave T20I behind
While talking about the ODI World Cup 2027, Pakistan's T20I captain, Salman Ali Agha dropped a bombshell. Amidst a poor campaign in the PSL 2026, he hinted about taking a break from the shortest format to focus on the next ICC event.
“There is a lot of concern. I keep thinking my World Cup is not going well and my PSL is also not going well. The World Cup 2027 is still far away, and as mentioned, we will focus on that. We don’t even have T20s this year; there are no T20s till December," Salman Ali Agha said.
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Agha, who is a regular three-format player for Pakistan, has scored just 84 runs in six innings, featuring for the Karachi Kings. Moreover, his numbers in the 2026 T20 World Cup unsatisfactory - 60 runs in six outings. Although he regained some form during the Bangladesh ODIs, where he returned with 175 at 58.33 in three matches, striking at 104.17.
"After this PSL, the focus will obviously be on ODIs and Test matches. If I feel that for the World Cup 2017 I should take a break from T20s for preparation, or if I don’t want to focus on that, then I will definitely do it," the Pakistan T20I captain added.
Why PCB chose Salman Ali Agha as captain?
After escaping from the Babar Azam vs Shaheen Afridi tussle, PCB had appointed Salman Ali as the T20I captain in March 2025 before a five-match series against New Zealand. Interestingly, he was appointed as captain after playing just two T20Is on the basis of his good-enough performances in the longer formats.
Under his leadership, Pakistan have played 50 T20Is, winning 31 and losing just 18. The 32-year-old has one of the best winning percentages for Pakistan, i.e. 63.26 - the second best for any Pakistan captain with experience of 30+ matches. Although he failed as a captain during the 2025 Asia Cup and in the subsequent T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, Agha's numbers are questionable, as he has scored just 916 runs in his T20I career, averaging 22.90 and striking at 123.11.
Salman Ali Agha enjoys Tests, ODIs more than T20Is
Having said that, Salman Ali Agha fares better in the longer formats, while batting at number 5 or 6.
In 50 ODIs, he has scored 1538 at 45.23 with a strike rate of 96.18, with three tons and nine half-centuries. Meanwhile, in Tests, the right-hander has played 23 matches to hit 1487 at an average nearing 40, with three centuries and 10 fifties and a best score of 132*.
Statistically, Agha has been better in ODIs and Tests than the shortest format, where he plays without the responsibility of captaincy. To put the argument to say, in 143 T20s overall, he has scored 2288 runs at a mere average of 20.00 and a strike rate of 122.22.
Nevertheless, Pakistan's next assignment is the England tour of three Tests, starting from August 19 at Leeds.
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