Babar Azam vs Salman Ali Agha: Who Has Better T20I Captaincy Record After 18 Matches?

Babar Azam and Salman Ali Agha for Pakistan (Source:@GripactivePk/X.com)

Pakistan cricket is going through a tough time currently, as the performance of the team has not been up to the standards that are expected from the Men in Green. They have chopped and changed a lot and now have made Salman Ali Agha their permanent T20I captain.

Series Of Captaincy Change In Pakistan Cricket

Since his appointment, Pakistan selectors have made some bold decisions to drop Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan from the shortest format. They have tried to play an aggressive brand of cricket, and many young cricketers have been given responsibility under his leadership.

Before Salman Ali Agha, Rizwan led Pakistan in four matches. However, it was Babar Azam who led Pakistan for a long time from 2019 till the T20 World Cup 2024. He was removed from the leadership role after Pakistan's poor performance in the T20 World Cup 2024, and the team was often criticised for their defensive approach during his captaincy tenure.

Now, since the appointment of Salman Ali Agha, there have been constant debates about whether he is better than Babar Azam. Agha has led his country in 18 matches, and so in this article, we will compare the captaincy record of the two players after 18 games.

Babar Azam's Overall Captaincy Record

Overall, Babar Azam has captained Pakistan in 85 T20I matches. It includes three T20I World Cups - 2021, 2022 and 2024. Pakistan did well in the initial two World Cups, qualifying for the semifinal and final in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups, respectively. However, they crashed out of the group stage in the T20 World Cup 2024.

Overall, Pakistan have won 48 of 85 matches under Babar's leadership while they have lost 30. Seven matches have produced no result, and Babar Azam has a record of captaining his country in the most T20I matches as well as winning the most games.

Babar Azam vs Salman Ali Agha: Captaincy Record After 18 T20I Matches

Salman Ali Agha has captained his country in 18 matches, and Pakistan have got mixed results so far. They have won nine and lost nine matches. He started his captaincy tenure with a loss against Australia and then won the series against Zimbabwe. It was followed by a series loss against New Zealand while they whitewashed Bangladesh at home.

However, the Bangla Tigers returned the favour in their own den and Pakistan lost the series 1-2. Now, they have won the series against West Indies by a 2-1 margin, which shows that the team has not been consistent under Salman Ali Agha so far.

Babar Azam, on the other hand, started with a series loss against Australia. However, after that they won against Bangladesh, Zimbabwe, and drew against England. They also beat the Proteas unit in the home and away series, and overall, Babar Azam lost just five matches as captain out of his initial 18 matches.

They won 11 matches, which included wins against big teams like England and South Africa, while Salman Ali Agha has been able to win only against Bangladesh and the West Indies so far.

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Conclusion

Thus, looking at the stats of the initial 18 matches, Babar Azam is ahead of Salman Ali Agha. Babar also captained against bigger teams and on away tours in countries like England and South Africa, while Salman Ali Agha has performed the role mostly in subcontinental conditions.

In New Zealand, Salman Ali Agha's team could win just one out of the five matches. Thus, overall, if we compare the stats and quality of opposition, Babar Azam seems better than Salman Ali Agha at this point in time. 

However, Salman Ali Agha is leading a young and inexperienced side currently. As his team gains experience, the results could go in Pakistan's favour more consistently.

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