RAWALPINDI: The Salman Ali Agha century celebration son dedication was revealed on Sunday. Subsequently, Pakistan middle-order batter Salman Ali Agha spoke about the moment. In fact, he said his century celebration against Sri Lanka was dedicated to his young son. Indeed, it was not intended to send a message to his critics.
Agha scored his fourth ODI century in the tri-series opener against Sri Lanka on Sunday. Moreover, he helped Pakistan post 305 runs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. As a result, Pakistan went on to win the match by 37 runs. Finally, they restricted Sri Lanka to 268.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Agha dismissed suggestions about his celebration. Specifically, he rejected claims that it was aimed at proving anyone wrong.
“I don’t have enough time to message someone or prove someone wrong,” he said.
“I love my cricket, I love batting and I like playing for Pakistan.”
He said his little son “watches TV like this”, so the [celebration] was for him.
Agha added that the gesture was meant for his four-year-old son. Specifically, the boy watches television with his finger on his cheek. “He is only four years old,” the batter said. He had told his family: “the next time I would score a hundred, I would celebrate like that.”
Fixing the leg alignment
Agha said a technical flaw he corrected in domestic cricket was behind his return to form. Specifically, his leg was going across the stumps during a difficult international run. Finally, he fixed it in domestic matches.
“When you struggle in international cricket, you face issues with your technique. I also had an issue because my leg used to go across. I went back to domestic cricket, worked on it and corrected my leg alignment, which benefited me.” He said.
Agha said he had assessed the conditions quickly. Meanwhile, he walked in with Pakistan struggling at 118-4. “After facing a few balls, I realised the pitch was good. I felt we needed to score 300; otherwise, we would struggle.” He said. “I tried to take it ball by ball and get the team to 300.”
Shaheen Shah Afridi led the bowling attack with three wickets. Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah and Faheem Ashraf claimed two apiece. As a result, Pakistan secured a winning start in a tournament that also features England. Feature Pakistan reported on Sunday’s opener and previewed the tri-series earlier.
Plea for domestic cricket’s respect
During the press conference, Agha also criticised the lack of recognition given to domestic cricket. In addition, he said performances at that level should not be underestimated.
“I think we don’t give enough respect to our domestic cricket. The conditions there are not that easy and scoring runs is not an easy job. Otherwise, everyone would go there and score runs.” He said.
The batter also questioned the tendency of former cricketers to downplay domestic performances on social media. Furthermore, he stressed that players must perform well to score runs in challenging conditions.
Agha said former cricketers claim on social media that a player “has scored runs in domestic cricket”. He added that “scoring runs there is not that easy”. “You have to play well to score runs there,” he added.
Agha said players who earn international opportunities through consistent domestic performances deserve recognition. He pointed to his own 10-year journey in domestic cricket. In addition, he cited Saud Shakeel and debutant Saad Baig as other examples. They had performed at that level.
“I don’t think this is a good message either.”
“The players who come from there after performing have earned it,” he said.
“I was performing there for 10 years before I came into international cricket.”
“Saud Shakeel was also there.”
“Saad Baig has performed in domestic cricket and did well today,” he added.
“I think the time has come to give domestic cricket the respect it deserves.” He concluded.
A rough patch before the hundred
The century came after a difficult period for Agha. He had captained Pakistan in the opening Test against England. However, he then missed the second match. He was subsequently sent home as part of a major squad reshuffle. Specifically, seven players were released ahead of the third Test.
Meanwhile, after his return, Agha played five matches for Kingsmen Academy in the President’s Trophy Grade-I. Indeed, this included an unbeaten 300 in his first appearance.
He was later replaced by Sahibzada Farhan as Pakistan’s T20I captain. In addition, he was left out of the squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka. In contrast, his response on Sunday was 107 off 90 balls at Pindi. Finally, it was the innings that got his international form back on track.
