PCB Mulls Removing Salman Ali Agha As Pakistan’s T20I Captain; Replacement Identified

Salman Ali Agha - (Source: AFP)In a significant development, Pakistan’s apex cricket board, PCB, has decided to move on from Salman Ali Agha as the men’s team’s T20I captain. The Mohsin Naqvi-led board is mulling over removing Agha as the captain and has also shortlisted contenders to succeed Agha.A report from Geo News mentioned that Pakistan don’t see Salman Ali Agha in the scheme of things in the shortest format of the game and might be dropped from the team itself after losing the captaincy.Sahibzada Farhan, Shadab Khan Identified as new leadersThe same report said the PCB is considering Sahibzada Farhan and Shadab Khan as the two candidates best suited to take over the Men’s T20I team captaincy. Unlike Salman Ali Agha, Shadab and Farhan have been Pakistan’s best-performing players in T20Is and T20 cricket.Talking about Shadab Khan, the 27-year-old has captained Pakistan previously. Shadab has led the Men in Green in 6 T20Is from 2020 to 2023, where he won two matches and lost four.Shadab was out of the T20I team for a long time, but the star all-rounder has now regained his lost mojo. The 27-year-old recently won the player of the tournament award in CPL 2026, where he scored 132 runs and took 11 wickets in 7 innings.Sahibzada Farhan, on the other hand, had a brilliant T20 World Cup 2026, where he scored 383 runs in 6 innings, breaking Virat Kohli’s record for most runs in a single edition of the tournament.sFurther, the 30-year-old was named Pakistan’s captain to lead in the ongoing Asian Games. At present, he has yet to play a solitary match as captain.Babar Azam To Return For Sri Lanka T20IsPakistan's upcoming T20I assignment will be against Sri Lanka starting from October 9. The report mentioned that Babar Azam will be back in the T20I setup. Notably, the 31-year-old has been out of the side since a poor T20 World Cup 2026.However, Babar Azam bounced back in PSL 2026, where he scored 588 runs in 11 innings, averaging 73.50. Hence, the right-handed batter is all set to return to the T20I team.Shaheen Afridi, Haris Rauf To be Dropped From Pakistan Team With Salman Ali AghaAs touted, PCB is looking for massive overhauls across formats. Salman Ali Agha suffered four defeats against India in the last one year and has been struggling with the bat as well. Hence, the board has planned to drop him from the team as well.Notably, the report from GeoNews also stated that the board is planning to drop Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf from the T20I setup. The two bowlers have struggled in the shortest format of the game, and the Mohsin Naqvi-led board feels that the time is right to move on from them.Also Read: Shoaib Akhtar Set For Massive Role At PCB; Takes A U-Turn On His Earlier StanceIn 2026, Shaheen Afridi has picked up just 10 wickets in 7 innings, while Haris Rauf has been out of the team since the 2025 Asia Cup, where he leaked way too many runs in the final against India.Does Salman Ali Agha Deserve To Be Kicked Out Of the T20I Setup?Troubles keep on mounting for Salman Ali Agha. The right-handed batter recently faced scrutiny for Pakistan’s Test performance in England, followed by his removal from the Test team. Now, his removal from T20Is would mean that the PCB only consider him valuable in the ODIs.Talking about Agha’s T20I performance, he has struggled to lead the side from the front. The 32-year-old scored just 241 runs in 11 innings, averaging 21.90 with the bat. In 2026, he has just a solitary fifty to his name.Also Read: Jos Buttler Says Brendon McCullum’s Removal As Test Coach A Blessing For England