Rawalpindi, October 19,2026: Pakistan batter Salman Ali Agha has clarified that his celebration after scoring a century against Sri Lanka in the opening match of the ODI tri-series was dedicated to his young son and was not intended to send a message to anyone.
Agha struck an impressive hundred on Sunday to help Pakistan post 305 runs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium before the hosts secured a 37-run victory over Sri Lanka.
Speaking at the post-match media conference, the right-handed batter said he had no intention of proving anyone wrong, explaining that his son 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 said.
The century marked Agha’s return to the Pakistan side after a challenging period in his international career.
He captained Pakistan in the opening Test against England but missed the second match and was sent home as part of a major squad reshuffle that saw seven players released ahead of the third Test.
After returning from England, Agha played five matches for Kingsmen Academy in the President’s Trophy Grade-I, 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 omitted from Pakistan’s squad for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, which the hosts won 2-1.
Beyond discussing his celebration, Agha urged greater recognition of domestic cricket, saying 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.
He expressed disappointment over the tendency to dismiss 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 said players who consistently perform in domestic competitions deserve recognition, pointing to his own journey and those of fellow batters Saud Shakeel and Saad Baig.
“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,” he said.
“I think the time has come to give domestic cricket the respect it deserves,” he concluded.
Agha’s century helped Pakistan set Sri Lanka a target of 306 runs. The visitors were eventually bowled out for 268 in 48.1 overs.
Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi led the bowling attack with three wickets, while Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Faheeem Ashraf claimed two wickets each to secure a 37-run win for the hosts in the tri-series opener.
