‘Hope It Doesn’t Happen Again’: Salman Agha on Mid-Series Changes
Experienced all-rounder Salman Ali Agha on Friday expressed his hope that Pakistan does not enforce mid-series changes in the future, while commenting on the squad overhaul during the Test tour of England in August and September this year. The Salman Agha mid-series changes remarks came at a press conference on the eve of the ODI tri-series final against Sri Lanka at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore.
Agha was among seven players released from Pakistan’s squad midway during the England Test series, and he did not hide his view of the decision. “During the season, I don’t think it has happened before. And I don’t think it should happen again,” Agha told reporters. “I don’t think it’s a good thing to drop the series. And I hope it doesn’t happen again,” he added.
He argued that such decisions affect the players’ confidence, and that a team in the middle of a tough tour needs backing rather than a shake-up that signals panic.
Salman Agha mid-series changes began on the England tour
Pakistan toured England for a three-match Test series in August, shortly after securing a 1-1 draw against West Indies in their preceding assignment. That West Indies series marked star batter Babar Azam’s first assignment in his second stint as the red-ball captain.
Babar missed the series opener against England due to injury and was replaced as captain by Agha for the fixture, which the national team lost by an innings and 103 runs. Although Babar returned for the subsequent Test at Lord’s, Pakistan suffered an equally gruelling defeat, going down by 194 runs.
The back-to-back defeats led to a mid-series overhaul that saw Pakistan release seven players from their contingent, including Agha. The overhaul did not change the visitors’ fortunes. They also lost the third Test in Birmingham by eight wickets, despite a defiant half-century in the second innings from emerging bowling all-rounder Razaullah.
Agha, meanwhile, returned to domestic cricket and piled up runs for Kingsmen Academy in the recently concluded President’s Trophy Grade-I 2026-27, during which he also scored a triple century and a hundred. That domestic run earned him a place back in the national team for the upcoming two-match home Test series against Sri Lanka, the initial 14-member squad for which was announced last week.
Workload and separate teams for each format
Agha also argued that workload concerns have become minimal because Pakistan now possess different players for each of the three formats. He was responding to a question about whether national cricketers are taken into confidence before being rested for particular assignments.
“I think our workload is different now,” Agha said. “The T20I team is completely different. Even the Test team and the One-Day team are different. I don’t think the workload is the same now. Earlier, there was only one team of three formats. So the same players used to play a lot. You could have said something about the workload then. And now, I think, if there are three different teams, there won’t be much of a workload issue.”
The comments add a second strand to Agha’s press conference ahead of the tri-series final. In separate remarks at the same media session, he spoke about feeling less pressure after losing the T20I captaincy, as covered in Salman Agha’s remarks on captaincy pressure. Together, the two sets of comments sketch a player who has fought his way back into the side through domestic runs and now wants stability: for himself, and for the team around him.
Whether the team management agrees is another matter. Mid-series changes are usually defended as a response to form or fitness, not as a judgement on character. Agha’s point is narrower and harder to dismiss: that dropping players in the middle of a series damages confidence, and that a side already losing does not improve by being told, in public, that seven of its members are no longer wanted.
The original report on Agha’s remarks was published by Geo Super.
Why did Agha oppose mid-series changes?
Agha said such decisions affect players’ confidence and argued that the mid-series overhaul during the England tour should not happen again.
How many players were released during the England tour?
Seven players, including Agha, were released from Pakistan’s contingent midway through the three-match Test series.
