Shoaib Akhtar slams Salman Agha’s captaincy after Pakistan’s Asia Cup defeat to India

Former Pakistan pacer Shoaib Akhtar came down heavily on skipper Salman Agha after Pakistan’s loss to India in the Asia Cup 2025. Akhtar openly questioned Agha’s place in the side, let alone his leadership credentials.

“I am very surprised by the coach (Mike Hesson). As for the captain, he doesn’t know anything anyway. What is he captaining? What is he playing in the middle? He is the weakest link in the team,” Akhtar said during an appearance on PTV Sports.

The Rawalpindi Express compared Agha to India’s middle-order options, saying: “At No. 6, India have Hardik Pandya or Tilak Varma. Compare that with Agha. He’s a good boy, fine, but what does he bring to the table? What has he produced as a talent?”

Akhtar did not stop at captaincy and went on to criticise Pakistan’s overall team selection. He argued that Pakistan missed a trick by leaving out young opener Hasan Nawaz.

“Wrong decision not to play Hasan Nawaz – he can win matches for you. Or Mohammad Wasim Jr, another player who can win games. Instead, they picked inexperienced names. From 91 in 10 overs, Pakistan could have been 140 by the 15th and reached 200. But Hussain Talat came and slowed everything down. Then Mohammad Nawaz wasted 19 balls and got run out,” Akhtar fumed.

The former pacer also questioned the logic of using part-timer Saim Ayub with the ball in the powerplay. “If you wanted him to bowl three overs, then why not pick more fast bowlers? What’s the process behind this selection? Someone should explain it,” he added.

Akhtar acknowledged that India turned the match around in the middle overs, crediting Shivam Dube for shifting the momentum. “Dube’s spell was the turning point. Pakistan lost all rhythm after that, and the batting just collapsed under pressure,” he said.

The 50-year-old also took aim at Pakistan’s bowling strategies, particularly against India’s openers Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill. He echoed concerns about Shaheen Afridi’s approach.

“Shaheen should have attacked Abhishek with proper short balls and bouncers from both ends. The first ball should have been a length delivery to force him forward. That’s how you dismiss an aggressive opener. Instead, the bouncer he bowled wasn’t well-directed, and then he didn’t try it again. Against a batsman in form, that was poor planning,” Akhtar said.

Wrapping up his assessment, Akhtar held both coach Mike Hesson and captain Agha responsible for Pakistan’s poor showing. “The captain doesn’t justify his place in the team, and the coach is equally to blame. Wrong selection, wrong strategy, wrong execution – all of it falls on the management,” he concluded.