Luke Wood: “Saim Ayub is one hell of a player. He’s actually quite different to a few of the Pakistani players”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
England left-arm seamer Luke Wood believes Pakistan big-hitting opener Saim Ayub “is one hell of a player.”
He added that the 21-year-old is also unique in comparison to a few of the other Pakistan cricketers.
The Karachi-born powerhouse is one of the brightest batting prospects in the country and has already represented the men in green in T20Is and Test cricket.
Recently, Wood played alongside Ayub for the Peshawar Zalmi in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL) and got to witness the youngster’s aggressive batting firsthand.
In the 11 matches he featured in, Ayub accumulated 345 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 31.36 and a strike-rate of 157.53.
“Saim Ayub is one hell of a player. He’s actually quite different to a few of the Pakistani players,” Wood was quoted as saying by respected journalist Saj Sadiq on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Wood also did well in PSL 9, taking 12 wickets in 11 games at an average of 29.08 and an economy rate of 8.24.
The Zalmi qualified for the playoffs, but saw their campaign come to an end after they lost to the Multan Sultans in the Qualifier and Islamabad United in Eliminator 2.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9:Â Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Asif Ali, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Haseebullah Khan, Mohammad Zeeshan, Mehran Mumtaz, Luke Wood, Sufiyan Muqeem, Waqar Salamkheil, Arshad Iqbal, Gus Atkinson, Shamar Joseph