Azhar Mahmood: “Salman Ali Agha is one of our best – but he needs support from the lower order”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood knows middle order batsman Salman Ali Agha is one of the best players in the Test team, but admitted he needs more support, especially from the lower order.
Salman often finds himself batting with the tailenders in the longest format, but continues to deliver important knocks for the men in green.
This was evident during the recent two-Test series against South Africa, where the 32-year-old scored 170 runs, which included a top score of 93, at an average of 42.50.
“Salman Ali Agha is one of our best – but he needs support from the lower order,” Mahmood was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
After the Test series, Salman, who is Pakistan’s T20I captain, proceeded to make 35 runs in three T20Is against the Proteas at an average of 17.50 and a strike-rate of 106.06.
He then amassed 136 runs in three ODIs, which included two fifties, at an average of 68.
Salman continued to impress in the 50-over format when Pakistan took on Sri Lanka as he struck 111 runs in three games, which included a top score of 105 not out, at an average of 111.
The Lahore native then led the men in green in a T20I tri-series against Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, and accumulated 79 runs in five matches, which included a career-best score of 63 not out, at an average of 26.33 and a strike-rate of 125.39.
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