3 min readUpdated: Apr 17, 2026 11:06 PM IST
Pakistan’s T20 cricket captain Salman Ali Agha has said that he is considering a break from the T20 format in order to recharge his batteries in time for the ICC ODI World Cup next year. He said he also wants to focus on the World Test Championship cycle.
“The World Cup is a long way to go but yes one has to think about managing one’s schedule and workload. If I feel it (break) can help me in preparing for the World Cup and Tests I will do it,” Agha told reporters.
Agha said that for him, next year’s 50-over World Cup is the most significant event. To be a part of the Pakistan team, he said if required he would take a break from T20 cricket to prepare. The ODI World Cup is scheduled to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia in October and November, next year.
Agha had batted at number three in the T20 World Cup earlier this year in India and Sri Lanka. In Pakistan’s ODI series in Bangladesh, he scored 106, 64 and 5.
Salman said that he was not in favour of young players earning a ticket to the national team simply from good Pakistan Super League performances.
“I would rather like to see a process where we identify strong young talent in the PSL and send them to play in domestic cricket and then review their performances and decide if they are ready for international cricket,” he added.
Agha was the captain of the Pakistan cricket team at the recent T20 World Cup where the side missed out from making it to the semi-finals. Agha also faced plenty of criticism from journalists in Pakistan for the side’s inability to make it to the semis. At one point, he was even asked if he was a “dummy captain” after their ouster in the Super 8.
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In that confrontational press conference, Agha was also asked at a press conference if he would step down from the T20 captaincy himself, or Pakistan Cricket Board should remove him.
“Regarding the decision [on captaincy], I think any decision made right now would be emotional. We will go back, take a few days, and then whatever decision needs to be made will be made,” Agha had said back then.
(With inputs from PTI)
