Saim Ayub: “I have enjoyed with both of them, I have opened with Rizwan bhai for only four times whilst I have been doing that with Babar bhai since the last PSL. I enjoyed with both of them because both of them have scored so many runs”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan powerhouse Saim Ayub could not choose between limited overs captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan when asked which player he prefers opening with.
Ayub opened the batting with Rizwan during the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January 2024, while he has forged a formidable opening partnership with Azam in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), where they both play for the Peshawar Zalmi.
The 21-year-old admitted that he enjoys playing with both of them as they are brilliant run-scorers who consistently do well for Pakistan.
“I have enjoyed with both of them, I have opened with Rizwan bhai for only four times whilst I have been doing that with Babar bhai since the last PSL. I enjoyed with both of them because both of them have scored so many runs, and it feels great to play alongside them,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
In the recently-concluded 2024 PSL, Ayub scored 345 runs in 11 matches for the Zalmi, which included two half-centuries, at an average of 31.36 and a strike-rate of 157.53.
Azam, meanwhile, captained the franchise and was the highest run-scorer in PSL 9 with 569 runs in 11 games, which included a century and five fifties, at an average of 56.90 and a strike-rate of 142.60.
As for Rizwan, he led the Multan Sultans and made 407 runs in 12 matches, which included four half-centuries, at an average of 33.91 and a strike-rate of 122.22.
The Zalmi made it to the playoffs, but were eventually knocked out by Islamabad United, who defeated the Sultans by two wickets in the final.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which will be held in Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 18 to 27.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: 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
Multan Sultans Squad for PSL 9: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Iftikhar Ahmed, David Willey, Khushdil Shah, Usama Mir, Dawid Malan, Abbas Afridi, Reeza Hendricks, Tayyab Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Khan, Mohammad Ali, Faisal Akram, Yasir Khan, Chris Jordan, Aftab Ibrahim, Johnson Charles, Mohammad Shehzad
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