Harsha Bhogle: “Excited to see Saim Ayub. I’ve heard a lot about him”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Renowned cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle said he has “heard a lot” about aggressive Pakistan opener Saim Ayub and is “excited to see” him in action.
Ayub has been a dominant force in domestic cricket and scored 553 runs in four games for the Karachi Region Whites in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy (QeA Trophy), which included three centuries, at an average of 79.
He continued his impressive run of form by being the highest run-scorer in the Pakistan Cup with 397 runs in eight games, which included a century and a fifty, at an average of 49.62.
His strong performances earned him a call-up to the Test team for the recent three-match series against Australia, where he made his debut in the third Test in Sydney and scored 0 and 33.
The 21-year-old from Karachi then featured in Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand and amassed 39 runs at an average of 9.75 and a strike-rate of 130.
Even though he didn’t live up to expectations, Bhogle believes the young big-hitter has shown plenty of promise and will deliver in the future.
“Excited to see Saim Ayub. I’ve heard a lot about him,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ayub will now play for the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), which starts on February 17.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Haseebullah Khan, Asif Ali, Naveen-ul-Haq, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Mohammad Zeeshan, Lungi Ngidi, Mehran Mumtaz, Noor Ahmad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob