After Pakistan’s six-wicket loss to India in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash, Shoaib Akhtar slammed captain Salman Ali Agha, questioning his form, captaincy, and team selection, labeling him the ‘weakest link’ in Pakistan’s struggling line-up.
Former Pakistan pace bowling legend Shoaib Akhtar brutally criticised Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy following the Men in Blue’s six-wicket defeat to Team India in the Asia Cup 2025 Super 4 clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, September 21. In the second round of the clash after the group stage encounter, Pakistan yet again lost to the Men in Blue by six wickets.
After posting a total of 171/5 in 20 overs, Pakistan failed to defend it as Team India chased down the 172-run target in 18.5 overs, thanks to Abhishek Sharma’s blistering knock of 74 off 39 balls and vital contributions from Shubman Gill (47) and Tilak Varma (30*). Shivam Dube was the best bowler for Team India as he registered figures of 2/33 at an economy rate of 8.20 in four overs, while Hardik Pandya and Varun Chakravarty picked a wicket each.
Pakistan’s bowling attack was not at its best as Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed, and Faheem Ashraf were the only wicket-takers for the side, while Shaheen Afridi and Saim Ayub went wicketless.
Akhtar questions Salman’s captaincy method
Pakistan’s second consecutive defeat against Team India in the Asia Cup 2025 raised questions about Salman Ali Agha’s captaincy method. Speaking on the show, ‘Game On Hai’, Shoaib Akhtar criticized Pakistan management for their selection method, adding that skipper Salma Ali Agha was the ‘weakest’ link in the line-up due to his lack of contribution.
“I think the wrong selection, wrong methods, totally out of the place kind of thing that you know, I would say. I am very surprised at the coach. I don’t know what the captain is doing in between,” the former Pakistan pacer said.
“What is the captain doing? What is he playing? I mean, like again, you know, that is the weakest part. No one is going to talk about this. Does he deserve to play this? On the spot where he is playing? This is the weakest link in between,” he added.
Scroll to load tweet…
Salman Ali Agha has yet to produce an impactful performance in the middle order of Pakistan’s batting line-up in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, as he scores read – 0, 3, 20, and 17*, aggregating 40 runs at an average of 13.33, highlighting his struggles to anchor the innings and contribute meaningfully under pressure.
‘Captain does not justify his place in the team’
Shoaib Akhtar further stated that Pakistan skipper Salman Ali Agha does not justify his place in the team due to his form and inability to make the right decisions during the match. He could not fathom the kind of method used by the Pakistan management to select the team.
“On top of that, you make a wrong decision not to play the guy who can win matches for you. But you know, that is the weakest point. The captain does not justify his place in the team,” Akhtar said on the show.
“And then on top of that, he makes a wrong decision when he is selecting the team. Along with the coach, I fail to understand what kind of methods are used to select the team,” he added.
In the clash against Team India, Pakistan went with a two-pacer attack of Haris Rauf and Shaheen Afridi by dropping Mohammad Nawaz, but both pacers, along with Saim Ayub, failed to make an impact, leaving Pakistan unable to defend their total and ultimately lose by six wickets.