Salman | Pakistan

Pakistan men’s captain Salman Ali Agha said on Saturday that he welcomed his players being aggressive on the field ahead of the first-ever final of an Asia Cup between Pakistan and India. Under fire after two comprehensive losses at the hands of India in the ongoing Asia Cup, the Green Shirts proved they were good enough to make it to the tournament’s final when they edged Bangladesh by 11 runs in their last Super Four outing on Thursday and all that matters now for the side are the title honours. Speaking at the pre-match press conference in Dubai, Salman said: “Every individual has their own way. If a player wants to be aggressive, then why not? If you take aggression away from a fast bowler, then there’s nothing left.” He was responding to an Indian journalist’s question about his responsibility as captain to keep his players’ actions in check. “Every player knows how to deal with their emotions. I give the players a free hand unless they are disrespecting someone or causing disrespect to our country,” the...

SHARJAH: Salman Ali Agha is not too concerned by Pakistan’s recent losses. Instead, Pakistan T20 captain is looking forward to his “quality side with exciting youngsters and amazing seniors” doing well at the upcoming tri-nation series and the subsequent Asia Cup. The Salman-led team face Afghanistan in a T20 tri-nation series opening match in Sharjah on Friday. The event, a warm-up for next month’s T20 Asia Cup, also includes hosts UAE. Besides Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UAE, the Asia Cup will also include defending champions India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Oman and Hong Kong. Pakistan’s white-ball fortunes are dipping after they crashed out of last year’s T20 World Cup in the group stage before failing to win a match at the ODI Champions Trophy. This year they lost a T20 series in Bangladesh 2-1 but overcame the West Indies by the same margin. Pakistan, under Salman, are going through a transition with former skippers Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan out of the T20 squad. Both the veteran players have been u...