Ravichandran Ashwin: “I genuinely believe Agha Salman has the ability to surpass even Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin believes Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha is such a talented batsman that he can even surpass Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Azam and Rizwan have been Pakistan’s most consistent run-scorers across all three formats for years.
However, Salman has enjoyed a meteoric rise as of late as he has put up a number of incredible performances, often when batting with the lower order.
Recently, the 31-year-old was involved in Pakistan’s ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, and scored 219 runs in three matches, which included a career-best 134, at an average of 73.
He then represented his country in the 2025 Champions Trophy and finished with 61 runs in two games at an average of 30.50.
If Salman continues to keep the runs flowing, Ashwin feels he can become Pakistan’s best batsman.
“I genuinely believe Agha Salman has the ability to surpass even Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by A Sports.
Pakistan were dumped out in the group stage of the Champions Trophy after losing to New Zealand and India.
Their final game against Bangladesh was abandoned due to rain.
Next up for the men in green will be a tour of New Zealand, which will consist of five T20Is and three ODIs that will be played from March 16 to April 5.
Pakistan Squad for T20I Series against New Zealand: Hasan Nawaz, Omair Yousuf, Mohammad Haris, Abdul Samad, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Irfan Khan Niazi, Khushdil Shah, Shadab Khan, Abbas Afridi, Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Ali, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for ODI Series against New Zealand: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Salman Ali Agha, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Akif Javed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Imam-ul-Haq, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Irfan Khan Niazi, Naseem Shah, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir