Babar Azam: “He’s making full use of the opportunities he is getting”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Babar Azam, the Pakistan cricket captain, has praised top order batsman Saim Ayub for making the most of the opportunities he has been given.
The 21-year-old was extremely impressive in the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he played under Azam’s captaincy for the Peshawar Zalmi.
He ended up finishing with 341 runs in 12 matches, which included five half-centuries, at an average of 28.41 and a strike-rate of 165.53.
Following the conclusion of PSL 8, Ayub was called up to the Pakistan team for the T20I series against Afghanistan and New Zealand.
So far, he has featured in eight T20Is and amassed 123 runs at an average of 17.57 and a strike-rate of 123.
From what he has seen so far, Azam has been very impressed with Ayub.
“He’s making full use of the opportunities he is getting,” the 28-year-old was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on Twitter.
Azam is now captaining Pakistan in their two-Test series against Sri Lanka, which will run until July 28.
Pakistan Squad for Sri Lanka Test Series:Â Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Muhammad Huraira, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Shan Masood