Azhar Ali: “Look at Salman Ali Agha, he bats at number seven… he bats at a very tough number and he scores runs, a bit like Asad Shafiq”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Ex-Pakistan captain Azhar Ali has praised Salman Ali Agha, comparing his batting style in Test cricket to that of former middle order mainstay Asad Shafiq.
Azhar noted that, much like Shafiq, Salman occupies a “very tough number” in the batting line-up and often shoulders the responsibility in challenging situations. Despite this, he consistently finds a way to score runs for the men in green.
The 32-year-old, who is Pakistan’s T20I captain, has built a reputation for producing valuable and often match-saving innings in the longest format, even though he regularly finds himself batting with tailenders.
“Look at Salman Ali Agha, he bats at number seven… he bats at a very tough number and he scores runs, a bit like Asad Shafiq,” Azhar told PakPassion.
Salman recently led Pakistan in the 2026 T20 World Cup, where he failed to have much of an impact as he was restricted to 60 runs in seven matches at an average of 10 and a strike-rate of 130.43.
He then featured in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against Bangladesh and did significantly better as he made 175 runs in three games, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 58.33.
Despite his efforts, the men in green ended up losing the series 2-1.
Salman is now in action for the Karachi Kings in the 2026 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and has amassed 51 runs in three matches at an average of 17 and a strike-rate of 141.66.
Karachi Kings Squad for PSL 11: David Warner (captain), Hasan Ali, Abbas Afridi, Khushdil Shah, Saad Baig, Moeen Ali, Azam Khan, Haroon Arshad, Salman Ali Agha, Shahid Aziz, Mir Hamza, Adam Zampa, Mohammad Hamza, Aqib Ilyas, Khuzaima Tanveer, Reeza Hendricks, Muhammad Waseem, Ihsanullah, Rizwanullah