Senior Pakistan batter Salman Agha scored a triple century for Hyderabad Kingsmen against Markhor IT Solutions in the country’s President’s Trophy Grade-I tournament on Sunday (September 13). This was the first triple ton of his career, with the right-hander surpassing his previous best First-Class score of 169.
He reached the mark at a brisk pace too, taking only 336 balls for it, and helping his team reach a whopping 565/7 on the second day of the match. The triple-ton comes only two weeks after he was sent home in the middle of the Test series against England.
Agha’s case in the series was a curious one. He captained Pakistan in the first Test of the series in regular skipper Babar Azam’s absence but managed only 25 runs. He was dropped from
the second Test and then, without having the chance to play the third, was removed from the squad, alongside six others.
From those six, Mohammad Rizwan and Imam-ul-Haq returned the next day and are now facing investigations into their conduct and thus are now playing the domestic tournament. Four others stayed back in England for a while and even attended a function in Buckingham Palace. But Agha neither went to the event nor home, fueling speculations that he had rejected the invitation.
Mike Hesson, who stood in as the Test coach, rejected the idea.
“Look, I know there’s been a void in the news, but people are just making up stories,” Hesson said. “Salman Ali Agha, as I’ve said, the three players were released from the squad before I arrived, well before Buckingham Palace. They were sent a note at that time that these three players would not be attending Buckingham Palace. So, someone’s just made something up,” he added.
“I think Salman Ali Agha has been one of the best players for the last couple of years. He’s had probably three poor Tests, but he’s a fine player. And I think he’s obviously disappointed to not be involved,” he added.
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