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“We Have The Players Now”: Salman Agha Eyes Aggressive T20 Shift Minus Babar-Rizwan

Kaushik Kashyap

Pakistan Looks Past Babar and Rizwan in T20 Shift. [Source - VKBA1856/BCB/x.com]Pakistan Looks Past Babar and Rizwan in T20 Shift. [Source - VKBA1856/BCB/x.com]

Bangladesh and Pakistan are gearing up for a highly anticipated three-match T20I series, beginning on Sunday, July 20, at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka. This series marks another chapter in their growing T20 rivalry, with both sides aiming to build their squads ahead of marquee T20 events in the near future.

Pakistan Move Past Rizwan-Babar to Build Modern T20 Core

Pakistan are banking on their young, dynamic squad to play an aggressive brand of cricket in this series. With the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year, the team is focused on building a strong, fearless core.

Notably, the Men in Green will be without two of their most experienced campaigners in Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam for a third consecutive T20I series since the New Zealand tour in March. The absence of the prolific duo has been a talking point, but captain Salman Agha remains optimistic.

Speaking to the media on Saturday ahead of the first T20I, the Pakistan skipper acknowledged the contributions of Rizwan and Babar in Pakistan’s white-ball journey, but emphasized that the current group is more aligned with the demands of the modern T20 format.

“Babar and Rizwan are world-class. They have done very well for Pakistan. But T20 cricket is changing every six months to be honest. We have the players now who match the style of the aggressive cricket we want to play,” Salman said.

Salman also spoke highly of the Bangladesh team, calling them a competitive force, especially on home soil. With the kind of crowd support they get and the conditions they play in, Bangladesh are a tough side to beat in their own backyard.

Pakistan, however, will draw confidence from their recent 3-0 T20I series win over Bangladesh in May on their home turf which was again played in absence of Babar and Rizwan. They will be eager to replicate that dominance away from home and continue building a winning template under the new leadership.