Salman Ali Agha has promised a brand new cricket from Pakistan in their upcoming tour of New Zealand. During the Pakistan squad announcement for the white-ball series against the Kiwis, Agha has been announced as Pakistan’s new T20I captain.
Pakistan had a suffered a disappointing campaign in the Champions Trophy 2025, after failing to win their first two games against New Zealand and India.
Their last group stage fixture against Bangladesh washed out due to rain, resulting in the hosts finishing at the bottom of the Group A Points table.
As a result, Pakistan Cricket Board has decided to introduce several youngsters in the T20I format. Dropping senior players like Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam from the T20I squad, spinner Shadab Khan has returned as the vice captain.
Speaking ahead of the tour, Salman Ali Agha said the Board has opted for youngsters who shined in domestic cricket. He added that the side wants to play ‘a fearless cricket’ which is most needed at the moment..
“It’s an honour for me and also a challenge, we’ve brought a few youngsters into the team who have been playing the brand of cricket in domestic cricket that we want to play in the national side going forward,” Agha said in the press conference.
Pakistan interim head coach Aqib Javed and newly appointed T20I captain Salman Ali Agha’s press conference at the Gaddafi Stadium.
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“We have to focus on our intent and approach. We have to improve that. In modern day cricket these things are important.”
“This is a young team and we want to play fearless cricket. That is high-risk cricket, which is a requirement in modern cricket. There will be failures with that approach, but we have to support our players,” he added.
under the leadership of Salman Ali Agha, Pakistan will play a five match T20I series against New Zealand later this month. Then, they will involve in a three match T20I series against West Indies on Caribbean.
Pakistan will be finding their right combination ahead of the Asia Cup which is set to be played in T20I format and 2026 T20 World Cup in India.
The T20I series will begin on March 16 at Hagley Oval and will be played until March 26. Meanwhile the ODI series will begin on March 29 and will continue to play until April 05.
