Sikandar Bakht: “He is a very good candidate, he is becoming more mature, and his performance is also impressive. Give him a long run”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan fast bowler Sikandar Bakht has thrown his support behind Salman Ali Agha as captain, saying the middle order batsman should be given “a long run”.
His comments come after Salman was named Pakistan’s T20I captain prior to the recent tour of New Zealand.
In Salman’s first series in charge, the men in green were crushed 4-1 in the five T20Is they played against the Black Caps.
Despite this, it was the 31-year-old who led by example as he was Pakistan’s top run-scorer with 167 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 41.75 and a strike-rate of 135.77.
Bakht has been impressed with what he has seen from Salman and wants to see how Pakistan do under his leadership over a lengthy period of time.
“He is a very good candidate, he is becoming more mature, and his performance is also impressive. Give him a long run,” he was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Following Pakistan’s T20Is against New Zealand, the two sides played three ODIs, with Salman amassing 78 runs, which included a top score of 58, at an average of 26.
He is now representing Islamabad United in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and has made 168 runs in eight games at an average of 24 and a strike-rate of 138.84.
Islamabad United will have a chance to book their spot in the PSL 10 final and face the Quetta Gladiators if they beat the Lahore Qalandars in Qualifier 2 on May 23.
PSL 10 will conclude on May 25.
After this, Salman will captain Pakistan in a three-match T20I series against Bangladesh, which will take place in Lahore from May 28 to June 1.
Islamabad United Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Matthew Short, Naseem Shah, Shadab Khan (captain)
- Diamond: Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Jason Holder
- Gold: Ben Dwarshuis, Salman Irshad, Salman Ali Agha, Haider Ali
- Silver: Andries Gous, Colin Munro, Mohammad Nawaz, Rumman Raees
- Emerging: Hunain Shah, Saad Masood
- Supplementary: Riley Meredith, Rassie van der Dussen
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub
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