The Asia Cup 2025 is scheduled to begin on September 9th, with significant changes expected from the previous edition. Besides the format adjustments, key players will be missing. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have retired from T20 cricket, while Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are also not part of the squad this time. This situation has placed the captaincy role and the responsibility of leading Pakistan’s team on a captain with a relatively low profile.
The Pakistan Cricket Board announced the team for the Asia Cup on August 17th, excluding Babar and Rizwan, and appointing all-rounder Salman Ali Agha as the captain. Agha has been a part of the Pakistani team for the last two to three years. He made his T20 debut in November 2024 and has now been assigned as the captain of the team for this year. His performance has not yet achieved significant recognition.
Salman bats in the middle order for Pakistan as a right-handed batsman and off-spinner. He has played 20 T20 matches for Pakistan, accumulating 380 runs at an average of 27 and a strike rate of 115, with three half-centuries. He has also taken 4 wickets. His overall T20 career data reflects 1668 runs in 105 T20 matches, with a strike rate of 120, and 44 wickets.
Despite these figures, Salman will be leading the Pakistani team in challenging India. However, he has not participated in a match against India in this format. He has played 3 ODI matches against India, including 2 matches during the Asia Cup 2023, where he scored only 42 runs.
Notably, in one of these matches, Ravindra Jadeja caused a facial injury to Salman. During the match on September 11th, Salman attempted a sweep shot off Jadeja’s bowling without wearing a helmet, and the ball hit his face, resulting in a deep cut and bleeding. Consequently, Salman had to miss the subsequent matches.