Pakistan batter Salman Ali Agha broke his silence on his celebration following his century in Sunday’s ODI tri-series opener against Sri Lanka, saying the gesture was not intended to send a message to anyone.
Agha marked his return to the Pakistan side with an impressive century, helping the hosts post 305 runs before securing a 37-run victory over Sri Lanka at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
The right-handed batter’s performance came after a challenging period in his international career. He captained Pakistan in the opening Test against England before missing the second match and being sent home as part of a major squad reshuffle that saw seven players released ahead of the third Test.
Following his return from the England tour, Agha featured for Kingsmen Academy in the President’s Trophy Grade-I, playing five matches and making headlines with an unbeaten 300 in his first outing against Markhor IT (MIT) Solutions.
He was subsequently removed as Pakistan’s T20I captain, with Sahibzada Farhan appointed as his replacement. Agha was also left out of Pakistan’s squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, which the hosts won 2-1.
During the post-match media conference, Agha addressed his celebration after registering his fourth ODI century, explaining that the gesture was not intended to send a message to anyone or prove a point.
Instead, the middle-order batter revealed that the celebration was dedicated to his young son, who watches cricket on television and celebrates in a similar manner.
“I don’t have enough time to message someone or prove someone wrong. I love my cricket, I love batting and I like playing for Pakistan. That was only celebration and my little son watches TV like this, so the [celebration] was for him,” Agha explained.
Pakistan’s bowlers subsequently completed the job, restricting Sri Lanka to 268. Captain Shaheen Afridi led the attack with three wickets, while Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Faheem Ashraf claimed two wickets apiece.
Beyond discussing his celebration, Agha also called for greater recognition of domestic cricket, stressing that scoring runs at that level requires considerable skill and determination.
“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 expressed disappointment over the tendency to downplay domestic performances, particularly when players make the transition to international cricket.
“If a player like me scores runs in domestic cricket, former cricketers say on social media that he has scored runs in domestic cricket, but scoring runs there is not that easy. You have to play well to score runs there,” he added.
Agha emphasised that players who consistently perform in domestic competitions deserve recognition for their efforts, citing his own journey alongside those of Saud Shakeel and Saad Baig.
“I don’t think this is a good message either, because the players who come from there after performing have earned it. I was performing there for 10 years before I came into international cricket. Saud Shakeel was also there, and Saad Baig has performed in domestic cricket and did well today.”
Concluding his remarks, Agha reiterated the importance of acknowledging domestic cricket as a vital pathway for developing and preparing players for the international stage.
“I think the time has come to give domestic cricket the respect it deserves,” he concluded.
