Pakistan captain Salman Agha has made it clear that he fully supports his fast bowlers maintaining their aggression on the field, as the team prepares for the Asia Cup final against India. Agha emphasized that expressing intensity and competitive spirit is part of the game, provided players respect the boundaries of fair play.
“If someone wants to be aggressive on the ground, then why not,” Agha said during a press conference. “If you deprive a fast bowler of their aggression, then what’s left? Every player knows how to deal with their emotions. I give players license to react the way they want at the ground. As long as they’re not disrespecting anyone and stay within the line, I have no issues with that.”
After a heated group-stage clash last week, tensions remain high. Haris Rauf and Sahibzada Farhan were reprimanded for breaches of ICC rules, while India’s Suryakumar Yadav also faced penalties. The two sides did not shake hands before or after that match, reflecting the lingering strain between the countries following military conflicts earlier this year.
“𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒇𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆 2007,” 𝑨𝒈𝒉𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰’𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒏𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒘𝒐 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎𝒔. 𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒅, 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒅𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒏. 𝑨𝒈𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒆, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆.”
Pakistan Focused on Winning, Not Outside Pressure
Despite India’s attempts to downplay the intensity of the match, Agha acknowledged the unique pressure of a Pakistan-India final.
“It would be wrong to say a Pakistan-India match doesn’t carry more pressure,” he said. “It’s the final. There’ll be a similar amount of pressure on both sides. The pressure of a final is different, of course. We can’t control what’s happening outside the ground. Our focus is on winning the Asia Cup.”
Agha also admitted that his personal performance has not matched his expectations this tournament. He has scored at a strike rate of 78.04, lower than most of his teammates.
“𝑴𝒚 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍 𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒂𝒎 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑰𝒏 𝑻20 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕, 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏. 𝑰𝒕’𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒊𝒎 𝒇𝒐𝒓 150 𝒊𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒖𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒅𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒊𝒕.”
Despite struggles with the batting lineup, Pakistan’s bowlers have been reliable in defending below-par totals, giving the team hope for a strong finish. “Everyone knows we haven’t batted to our full abilities this tournament, but maybe we’re saving the best for the final,” Agha added with a laugh.
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