“I will take full responsibility,” says Pakistan skipper Agha after Super 8s exit at T20 World Cup 2026

Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha accepted responsibility for his side’s failure to make the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026.

It needed to restrict Sri Lanka below 147 runs in its final Super Eight match in Kandy to pip New Zealand for a spot in the semifinals. But Dasun Shanaka and Pavan Rathnayake’s late batting blitz denied Pakistan the chance, even though it won by five runs.

“We will take full responsibility, because we were involved in selecting the team. I will take responsibility, and I’m sure the coach will too. We have to make better decisions when we are under pressure.

“Because we made mistakes under pressure. And in ICC events, the pressure is high because you’re playing against the best teams in the world,” Agha said at the post-match press conference.

Agha added that he will weigh in on the decision to remain Pakistan’s T20I captain or not in the coming days, especially after his batting form came under the scanner. He could score just 60 runs in the seven games in the World Cup.

“I came in at number three and played well during the Sri Lanka and Australia series. I couldn’t give that performance here. Right now, I think any decision taken will be emotional. We will go back and take some time and then make the required decision,” Agha said.

A constant point of contention through the T20 World Cup was the selection of Babar Azam, and his deployment at No. 4. Coach Mike Hesson stoked the debate further after Azam was not sent out to bat during the game against Namibia. He had said that Babar was not the ‘ideal choice’ to bat either in the PowerPlay or during the death phase.

ALSO READ | Pakistan outlasts Sri Lanka, but misses out on semifinal spot

After a string of middling scores, the former captain was dropped for the final game on Saturday.

Explaining the decision to include Azam in the squad, Babar said, “When a team is formed, it is everyone’s decision. It is not formed by one person. Babar had a different role in this World Cup. He was our number four [because] we needed a batsman who could come in the middle order and give us stability and save us from the collapse. He had a different role. And when you come to World Cups, you have to define the roles of players,” Agha said.

On Saturday, Pakistan also dropped a misfiring Saim Ayub. The opening pair of Sahibzada Farhan and Fakhar Zaman put up a record 178-run partnership and helped Pakistan post 212.

“We had an idea that if we bat first or bat second, we will need a player like Fakhar to utilise the PowerPlay. Saim was not in perfect form, so we thought we should use him, and he did an outstanding job.

“Of course, when we scored over 200, we knew we were going to defend 148, and we were thinking we could do that. But you got to give credit to Dasun, the way he batted, as well as Ratnayake. I think they both batted brilliantly,” Agha said.

Published on Mar 01, 2026