The pressure of an India-Pakistan clash is such that captains are often found second-guessing their decisions, pondering on hypothetical what-if situations. For Pakistan skipper Salman Agha, one specific tactical decision from a high-stakes Asia Cup 2025 final against India that continues to linger is his tactical call to persist with pacer Haris Rauf. Reflecting on his first year of leadership role as Pakistan’s T20 captain, Agha opened up about the biggest blunder he made in the Asia Cup final, which cost his side a potential victory.
Leadership in international cricket is a steep learning curve, particularly when results do not go as planned. Agha acknowledged that his tenure has been a period of trial and error so far.
“There are a lot of things. One year has passed since I began to captain, and that too in two tournaments. So many mistakes must have happened. If our results weren’t good, then mistakes would have happened,” Agha said during the ARY podcast.
The moment that haunts the Pakistan captain even today came in the Asia Cup final against arch-rivals India. With the game hanging in the balance, Agha had to choose between sticking with his specialist spinner, Abrar Ahmed, or reverting to his primary pace threat, Haris Rauf.
Agha admitted that he often wonders how the match might have concluded had he shown more faith in Abrar.
“In the Asia Cup final, I decided that if I had continued with Abrar, I never know what would have happened to the result. That is one thing I would like to change,” Agha said.
The decision to pull Abrar from the attack was made to bring back Haris, who was expected to provide a breakthrough. However, the move backfired as the pace spearhead struggled to find his rhythm under pressure.
“If you see the other side, I gave Haris the ball. He was our main bowler in that match. He couldn’t bowl well, couldn’t execute his plans properly,” Agha recalled. “I feel that if I continued with Abrar, you never know what would have happened to the game.”
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