"Does he play as a batter, captain, fielder or bowler?" - 1983 World Cup winner tears into Salman Agha after IND vs PAK Asia Cup 2025 final

Former Indian opener Kris Srikkanth launched a scathing attack on Pakistan skipper Salman Agha after the Asia Cup 2025 final in Dubai on September 28. Against most pre-match odds, the Men in Green competed on equal footing with a dominant Indian side for most of the final.

However, the Men in Blue eventually survived the Pakistan challenge and prevailed in a final-over thriller by five wickets. Despite finishing as runners-up, Pakistan were hurt by the performances of their captain throughout the tournament.

The right-hander averaged a dismal 12 in seven outings at a strike rate of under 81. Agha was also criticized by many for his bowling changes in the second half of India's run chase in the final.

The Pakistan skipper brought pacer Haris Rauf into the attack with the spin duo of Abrar Ahmed and Saim Ayub going great guns. The move backfired with Rauf conceding 50 off his 3.4 overs, including the winning runs.

Talking about the same on his YouTube channel post-game, Srikkanth said (2:53):

"Salman Agha was terrible as captain. My question is does he play as a batter, captain, fielder or bowler? I don't know why he is playing. Saim Ayub and Abrar were bowling well. Pakistan had a slight opening at that time after Sanju Samson got out. At that time, he cut both spinners off to bring the always-expensive Haris Rauf. But this is what happens if you appoint Mike Hesson as the coach."

Agha scored only eight in the summit clash as Pakistan collapsed from a dominant 113/1 in the 13th over to 146 all-out.

"I've never seen a batter like Salman Agha" - Kris Srikkanth

Kris Srikkanth continued questioning Salman Agha's ability as a batter, pointing to his embarrassing dismissal against Kuldeep Yadav in the final. Despite not reaching the pitch of the delivery, the Pakistan skipper went through with the shot and skied the ball to be dismissed off a catch by Sanju Samson.

"I've never seen a batter like Salman Agha, who hit the ball straight up in the air from the middle of the bat. Hussain Talat was exactly the same. Meanwhile, Mike Hesson was acting like he was coaching from the outside when the batting was so pathetic. With this Pakistan batting, even our Tamil Nadu school boys team would have won," said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).

Salman Agha boasts an impressive ODI and Test record with an average of almost 40 in both formats. However, he has struggled in T20Is, averaging 23.37 at a strike rate of 110.21 in 32 outings.