Salman Ali Agha confirms he will bat at No. 3 in the upcoming games

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha came out to bat at the first drop in the opening T20I against Australia, which was only the seventh time he did so in his 43-match T20I career.

Salman moves to No. 3, Babar to an unnatural spot

Speaking in the post-match presentation, Salman confirmed he will bat at the same position in the upcoming matches to tackle spin early. Pakistan are scheduled to play all of their T20 World Cup games in Sri Lanka, where spin is likely to play a major role.

"Yes, I'll be batting at number three. We expect to face a lot of spin, and I believe I can dominate spin during the power play. That's why I moved up, and that is where I'll stay."

Salman batting at No. 3 means Babar Azam will have to make a late entry at an unusual No. 4, where he batted in the opening game for the first time since 2017. 

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Australia tour of Pakistan, 2026 Jan 29 to Feb 01

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January 29, 2026 6:00 pm Result

Pakistan won by 22 runs

Australia

146/8 (20)

Pakistan

168/8 (20)

January 31, 2026 6:00 pm Upcoming

Match starts at Jan 31, 11:00 GMT

Australia

 

Pakistan

 

Spinners do it for Pakistan

Pakistan have equipped themselves well for any kind of spin challenge thrown their way, in both their batting and bowling attacks. In the opening match, their spinners led the rout by sharing eight wickets between them.

The collapse was triggered by Saim Ayub, who bagged a wicket in his first over by dismissing Matt Short and sent Travis Head packing in the next. Abrar Ahmed was equally incredible as he took two wickets while choking the run flow and conceding only 10 runs in four overs.

"Abrar has been outstanding since his debut. Since the Asia Cup, our spin bowling has been doing really well for us; they are winning us games day in and day out," Agha continued.

"Hopefully, they can continue this form through to the World Cup," he added.

Pakistan’s road to the World Cup

Pakistan have two more games in the series left, scheduled to be played on January 31 and February 1 in Lahore. Following the conclusion of the series, they will fly to Sri Lanka, where Ireland will face them in a warm-up game on February 4. Pakistan will play the T20 World Cup opening game against the Netherlands on February 7.

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