Ramiz Raja: “New players have come into the team based on their strike-rates. Whether it’s Saim Ayub or Azam Khan, relying on a miss-and-hit approach is not sustainable for the entire team combination”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja believes big-hitting batsmen Saim Ayub and Azam Khan are too hit-or-miss.
He noted that both of them were likely picked for the recent five-match T20I series against New Zealand due to their high strike-rates.
However, Ramiz pointed out that their approach to batting “is not sustainable” as Pakistan need batsmen who can score runs consistently if they want to win regularly.
“New players have come into the team based on their strike-rates. Whether it’s Saim Ayub or Azam Khan, relying on a miss-and-hit approach is not sustainable for the entire team combination. You need to put in more effort because opportunities like these don’t come again,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
In the T20I series against New Zealand, which Pakistan lost 4-1, Ayub scored 39 runs in four games at an average of 9.75 and a strike-rate of 130.
As for Azam, he mustered 22 runs in three matches at an average of 7.33 and a strike-rate of 115.78.
Ayub will now play for the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), while Azam will represent Islamabad United.
PSL 9 will be held from February 17 to March 18 in four cities – Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad (partially available), Arshad Iqbal, Haseebullah, Gus Atkinson (partially available), Asif Ali, Naveen-ul-Haq (reserved), Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Mohammad Zeeshan, Waqar Salamkheil, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufyan Muqeem, Shamar Joseph
Islamabad United Squad for PSL 9: Shadab Khan (captain), Naseem Shah, Imad Wasim, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Alex Hales, Colin Munro, Rumman Raees, Matthew Forde, Salman Ali Agha, Qasim Akram, Shahab Khan, Hunain Shah, Ubaid Shah, Shamyl Hussain, Tom Curran (reserved), Obed McCoy, Haider Ali