Salman Ali Agha: “If senior players like Fakhar or Babar don’t fit into that combination, we won’t play them. We will play only those who are best for the team”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan T20I captain Salman Ali Agha has made it clear that batsmen like Babar Azam and Fakhar Zaman are not immune from being dropped from the playing XI if they “don’t fit into that combination”.
Azam had previously been dropped from the T20I side as he was going through an extremely difficult period with the bat.
As for Zaman, he has been in and out of the national team on multiple occasions, but like Azam, he has now started to find some form with the bat.
Despite their pedigree, Salman emphasised that team balance remains the priority, insisting he will make decisions in the best interest of the side, even if it means leaving out players like Azam and Zaman.
“If senior players like Fakhar or Babar don’t fit into that combination, we won’t play them. We will play only those who are best for the team,” he was quoted as saying by NDTV.
Pakistan recently played a two-Test series against Bangladesh, where Azam made 115 runs in one match, which included a top score of 68, at an average of 57.50.
As for the three-match ODI series against Australia, the 31-year-old ended up accumulating 125 runs, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 41.66.
Zaman, meanwhile, did not feature in either of those series.
Pakistan will be back in action soon as they are scheduled to tour the West Indies for two Tests in Trinidad and Tobago, with Azam taking charge as captain after having replaced Shan Masood.
The series will run from July 25 to August 6.
After that, the men in green will travel to England to play three Tests from August 19 to September 13.
Pakistan Squad for West Indies Test Series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
Pakistan Squad for England Test series: Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Awais Zafar, Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah