Salman Ali Agha opens up on ODI captaincy offer

Salman Ali Agha opened up on the rumours regarding him being offered the ODI captaincy, saying that no such talks have taken place so far.

Speaking during a press conference at the National Bank Stadium in Karachi on Monday, ahead of the white-ball series against Bangladesh, Pakistan’s T20I skipper said he has not been approached for the ODI role.

“It was also being said about me that I’m becoming the captain of all three formats. It was reported by you, I mean you guys can say anything,” Agha said humorously.

“But, until now I had no discussions regarding the ODI captaincy,” he added. 

When asked about the instability in captaincy and the short tenures of previous T20I skippers Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi, Agha avoided direct comments and said his only focus is on the team’s progress.

“I mean, what happened to the previous captains, I think I don’t need to talk about it as it was not my concern. I have to think about how I can bring the best out of my team. I only do things which are better for the Pakistan team and that is my only goal,” he further said.

Agha also confirmed that senior players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi are part of the team’s core group for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.

“We need to have players who can replace anyone at any given time and thus we are preparing our bench strength,” he said.

“As part of our plan for the future [assignments], we have shortlisted a pool of 25 players and those 25 players will be seen playing for the team until the T20 World Cup," he noted. 

“Shaheen Shah Afridi, Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are senior players and they are part of the pool,” he concluded.