Babar Azam: “Saim is playing outstanding cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Babar Azam, the Pakistan captain, said top order batsman Saim Ayub has been “playing outstanding cricket” as of late.
His comments come after the duo played alongside each other for the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2023 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
Ayub, 21, amassed 341 runs in 12 matches, which included five half-centuries, at an average of 28.41 and a strike-rate of 165.53.
Given what he has seen so far, Azam is impressed with the Karachi-born batsman.
“Saim is playing outstanding cricket,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Ayub is currently the highest run-scorer in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), where he has scored 341 runs in nine games for the Guyana Amazon Warriors, which includes three fifties, at an average of 42.62 and a strike-rate of 149.56.
Azam, meanwhile, scored 76 runs in a two-Test series against Sri Lanka at an average of 25.33.
He then went on to make 113 runs in three ODIs against Afghanistan, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 37.66.
Most recently, he captained Pakistan in the Asia Cup and accumulated 207 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 51.75.
Pakistan started the tournament on a high as they demolished Nepal by 238 runs before sharing one point apiece with India as their match was abandoned due to rain.
Having got through to the Super Four stage, the men in green continued rolling as they registered a comfortable seven-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Their unbeaten run was subsequently halted by India, who thrashed them by 228 runs.
Pakistan had the opportunity to qualify for the Asia Cup final when they took on Sri Lanka on September 14 in Colombo, but they couldn’t do it as they lost by two wickets via the Duckworth–Lewis–Stern method (DLS) method.
Pakistan Squad for 2023 Asia Cup:Â Babar Azam (capt), Shadab Khan, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saud Shakeel, Fakhar Zaman, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Saud Shakeel, Salman Ali Agha, Iftikhar Ahmed, Mohammad Nawaz, Usama Mir, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Haris (wk), Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Shahnawaz Dahani, Zaman Khan.
Travelling reserve:Â Tayyab Tahir