Asia Cup 2025 shake-up: Salman Ali Agha to lead Pakistan as Babar, Rizwan dropped; Shaheen returns

Asia Cup 2025 shake-up: Salman Ali Agha to lead Pakistan as Babar, Rizwan dropped; Shaheen returns Aug, 30 2025

A new captain and a hard reset

Pakistan dropped two of its biggest white-ball names and handed the armband to a surprise pick. Salman Ali Agha, an all-rounder better known for graft and game awareness than star status, will captain a remodelled 17 that does not include Babar Azam or Mohammad Rizwan for the Asia Cup 2025 in the UAE from September 9-28. Shaheen Shah Afridi returns to spearhead the attack after clearing recent fitness concerns.

The selection signals a tactical reset in T20 cricket. For years, Pakistan’s top order leaned on anchors—safe, steady, and consistent. This group looks built for intent. Powerplay aggression up top, pace depth through the middle, and more finishers than passengers. It’s a clear pivot toward scoring speed and bowling volatility, a style that has defined most title runs in modern T20s.

Pakistan’s squad: Salman Ali Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.

Babar and Rizwan’s omission will dominate conversation. Both have anchored Pakistan’s T20 batting for much of the past four years and carried them in crunch events. Leaving them out is a brave call, especially with India in the same group and a title on the line. But it also frees the selection panel to try a different blueprint before next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

What changes with Salman at the helm? Expect flexibility. He’s a handy batting all-rounder who rotates strike and reads conditions, and he’s captained sides at domestic level. His elevation suggests Pakistan want responsive, match-up driven moves: floating batters, multiple death-bowling options, and a willingness to use spinners early if surfaces grip.

At the top, Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, and Sahibzada Farhan bring left-right combinations and powerplay punch. Fakhar’s role is non-negotiable: go hard and keep going. Saim’s range over extra cover and midwicket makes him a natural tone-setter, while Farhan offers stability without slowing the rate. Mohammad Haris takes the gloves and keeps the tempo high; he’s a 360 operator who can bat anywhere from opener to finisher.

The middle order leans on Khushdil Shah and Hussain Talat for muscle, with Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Nawaz adding control and handy overs. Khushdil’s brief is simple: target the leg side, clear the ropes, and finish innings. Talat’s medium pace helps balance the XI on dry decks. Nawaz, Pakistan’s left-arm orthodox option, becomes crucial in Abu Dhabi and Dubai where the ball can grip at night.

Bowling is the headline. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, and Hasan Ali give Pakistan three distinct quicks: new-ball swing and yorkers (Shaheen), hit-the-deck pace at the death (Rauf), and experience with change-ups (Hasan). Mohammad Wasim Jr and Faheem Ashraf add seam-bowling length and depth with the bat. Salman Mirza gives another skiddy option if surfaces are slow and low.

Spin variety matters in the UAE. Abrar Ahmed, a mystery spinner who attacks the stumps, brings unpredictability. Sufyan Moqim gives a left-arm angle and air. Pair them with Nawaz and you get three different release points and trajectories—useful if Pakistan want to choke the middle overs and protect big powerplay scores.

It’s also a test of succession planning. Without Babar and Rizwan, leadership duties spread. Shaheen leads the fast-bowling unit by presence alone. Veteran Hasan Ali knows how to manage pressure in the field. Fakhar and Nawaz can steer positioning and pace of play. This kind of shared responsibility is often the difference between a tidy group-stage exit and a deep run.

If you’re looking for a first-choice XI today, it might read: Fakhar Zaman, Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (c), Mohammad Haris (wk), Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed. That blends early aggression, late hitting, two spinners, and three seamers, with Faheem as the balancing act. Swap in Hasan Ali or Wasim Jr for Faheem on pacier nights.

Tactics, roles, and the road through Group A

Pakistan are in Group A with India, Oman, and hosts UAE. The marquee game will arrive early, and the toss will matter—dew has a habit of dictating chases in Dubai. Expect Pakistan to chase when possible and to bat first only if the pitch looks tired or two-paced. The format runs group stage into Super Four and then a final, which rewards consistency and squad depth more than one-off brilliance.

Against India, match-ups are clear. Use Shaheen early at Rohit Sharma with the ball swinging back in. Keep a ring set for Suryakumar Yadav’s pick-up shots and feed him slower pace into the pitch. Pakistan will want to deny singles to Virat Kohli through midwicket and force him square—small tweaks that save 10-15 runs across an innings.

Oman and UAE will be ready for upsets. Both teams know these conditions and won’t fear low-scoring games. Pakistan can’t drift. The plan should be simple: hit hard in the powerplay, use two spinners through overs 7-14, and keep one over from Shaheen or Rauf for a late squeeze if the target is under 160.

Selection calls hint at role clarity. Mohammad Haris isn’t just a keeper; he’s a pace-on hitter who can disrupt plans in the first six. Khushdil is the left-handed finisher for the 16th to 20th over pocket. Nawaz is the glue who bowls into the wind and bats wherever the chase needs a left-right split. Talat becomes the contingency for pitches that slow down by the second innings.

There’s risk baked into all of this. Babar and Rizwan are cool heads in tight games and elite players of tempo. Without them, Pakistan must accept variance. Some nights the aggression won’t land. But the ceiling is higher—scores of 185-plus on sluggish decks become possible if the top three swing freely and the spinners hold the middle.

For Shaheen, this is more than a return; it’s a tone-setting tournament. If he controls length with the new ball and saves a yorker-heavy over for the 19th, Pakistan’s bowling gains structure. Rauf’s job is to backload pace and take risks with wide lines to protect long boundaries. Hasan Ali, should he play, turns into a powerplay option on tracks with no swing, aiming for hard lengths at the hip.

One under-the-radar subplot is squad flexibility. Hasan Nawaz and Salman Mirza give Pakistan two wildcards—raw tools that could flip a game. If Pakistan take early wins, they can blood one of them without compromising points. That’s how you find depth that lasts beyond a single tournament.

Context matters too. Pakistan have won the Asia Cup twice and finished runners-up in the last T20 edition in 2022. The UAE is familiar territory—they’ve won bilaterals here, lost heartbreakers here, and know how quickly pitches change across a week. This squad, by design, leans into that reality: more all-rounders, more spin, and a batting order that can float.

So what does success look like? A Super Four berth, a settled top three, a reliable finisher, and a death-bowling plan that doesn’t depend on one bowler. If those boxes get ticked, the noise around the omissions will fade, and Pakistan will carry a sharper identity into next year’s World Cup.