Salman Ali Agha responds after reporter asks ‘khud kaaptani chodenge ya PCB hatayega?’: ‘Dummy captain’

Salman Ali Agha was grilled by Pakistani journalists after the Green Shirts crashed out of the T20 World Cup on Saturday.

Updated on: Mar 1, 2026, 15:58:43 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Salman Ali Agha, the Pakistan captain, was grilled by journalists after the Green Shirts crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2026 on Saturday. This is the fourth ICC event in a row in which Pakistan failed to reach the semi-finals, following the 2023 ODI World Cup, the 2024 T20 World Cup, and the 2025 Champions Trophy. In the Group 2 Super 8s contest against Sri Lanka, the task was simple for Pakistan: restrict the opponent to 147 and win the contest by 65 runs; however, it wasn't to be after Sri Lanka managed to reach the score of 207, leading to Pakistan crashing out of the tenth edition of the T20 World Cup.

Pakistan crashed out of the T20 World Cup on Saturday. (AP)

Throughout the tournament, Agha was underwhelming with both the bat and as a skipper. The right-hander managed just 60 runs in the six innings he came out to the middle. As a skipper, some of his tactical calls on the field were baffling, and he came under fire from several former players, including Mohammad Hafeez, Basit Ali, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Amir and Shoaib Akhtar.

During the post-match press conference, a reporter straight up asked Agha whether he would step down as captain on his own or be removed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

Also Read: Salman Agha, Hesson, Babar in firing line as experts warn Naqvi: 'Pakistan cricket needs surgery' after World Cup exit

Answering the question, Agha said, “I think we haven't played as well as we should have in the World Cup. Right now, I think any decision taken right now will be emotional. We will go back and take some time and then make the required decision.”

Agha might have sidestepped this question, but another reporter came up with a provocative query, asking Agha whether he was treated as a “dummy captain” by the head coach Mike Hesson. This question was posed in reference to Babar Azam and how the head coach publicly criticised the former Pakistan captain's strike rate in the powerplay, and was demoted to No.4 to be eventually dropped for the must-win clash against Sri Lanka.

Looking Agha straight in the eye, the reporter asked, “Mike Hesson makes the captain and removes the captain. He has a lot of votes in the selection and a lot of opinions in the playing 11. Do you think he is dominating more, and he is portraying you as a dummy captain?”

This question seemed to have gotten on the nerves of the 32-year-old, and Agha replied, “The problem is that if I don't answer this, you will take disrespect. But sir, listen to me. When a team is formed, it is a team game. It is not formed by one person's decision. It is the result of the decisions of all stakeholders. Babar had a different role in this World Cup.”

“He was a number 4; he had a better experience. We needed a batsman who could come in the middle order and provide stability and save us from collapse. He had a different role. And when you come to the World Cup, you define the players' roles. He had this role, and we were looking at it from this point,” he added.

What happened in the match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka?

Pakistan were given a glimmer of hope of qualifying for the semi-finals after England defeated New Zealand. The task was simple for Pakistan: win by 65 runs and qualify for the last four. Batting first, Pakistan posted 212/8 in 20 overs after Sahibzada Farhan scored his second century of the tournament. Fakhar Zaman also came up with an 84-run knock.

Pakistan was then required to restrict Sri Lanka to 147, but it wasn't to be as Sri Lanka reached 207 after Dasun Shanaka's unbeaten 76-run knock of 31 balls.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

Get live cricket scores, match updates, schedules, results and ICC rankings. Follow the latest news, statistics and performances of top teams and players on Hindustan Times.