In a major shake-up following Pakistan’s disappointing Asia Cup 2025 campaign, Shadab Khan is reportedly set to replace Agha Salman as the team’s T20I captain. The seasoned all-rounder, who missed the Asia Cup due to a shoulder injury, is on the road to recovery and is expected to make his international return in the upcoming tri-series against Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in November.
Shadab Khan Poised for Leadership Role
Shadab’s absence from the Asia Cup squad was a big blow for Pakistan, but sources now suggest that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is considering him as the ideal candidate to take over the leadership. Currently serving as the team’s vice-captain, Shadab is widely respected for his tactical acumen and ability to perform under pressure.
“𝑰 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒘“𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒃 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒒𝒖𝒂𝒅 — 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒍-𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒔𝒌𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔. 𝑯𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒛𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒅𝒅𝒍𝒆 𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒂𝒄𝒌,” 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑷𝑪𝑩 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅.𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒚 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒏,” 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒌𝒓𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒉𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝑩𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒇𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔. “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒏𝒆𝒙𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒆 — 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒑. 𝑺𝒐 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕, 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒏𝒐𝒕? 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒘𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒔. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒖𝒑 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒆 𝒕𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔.”
Meanwhile, Agha Salman’s form has been a major concern. Despite winning 17 of the 30 T20Is under his leadership, his individual performances have dipped drastically. During the Asia Cup, Salman managed just 72 runs at an average of 12 and a strike rate of 80.89, contributing to Pakistan’s middle-order collapse.
Agha Salman Under Scrutiny After Asia Cup 2025
Pakistan’s overall performance in the Asia Cup 2025 left fans and experts disappointed, especially after losing all three matches to India, including the final. These results have intensified pressure on Salman’s leadership, with calls for a change growing louder.
According to a Jansatta report, Shadab is expected to step directly into Salman’s batting slot while also strengthening the bowling department with his leg-spin, which Salman rarely utilized in the tournament.
Shadab Khan’s Stellar T20I Record
Shadab’s numbers speak volumes about his all-around capability. In 112 T20Is, he has scored 792 runs at a strike rate of 140.2 and taken 112 wickets, making him one of Pakistan’s most consistent performers in the format. His leadership experience with Islamabad United, which he guided to a Pakistan Super League (PSL) title, further boosts his credentials.
“𝑰𝒇 𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒏, 𝑺𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒂𝒃 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒃𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒏𝒆𝒘 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒈𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 — 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒏 𝒅𝒆𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑻20 𝑾𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝑪𝒖𝒑,” 𝒂𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒕 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒅.
If finalized, Shadab’s appointment could mark the beginning of a new era for Pakistan cricket — one focused on tactical depth, improved team balance, and renewed confidence ahead of the global event.
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