Mohammad Hafeez: “Saim must play as an opener in T20 World Cup 2024 despite early failures”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez said big-hitter Saim Ayub must open the batting for the national team in the 2024 T20 World Cup.
Ayub has featured in 20 T20Is so far and scored 284 runs at an average of 15.77 and a strike-rate of 130.87.
Despite not having had the best start to his international career, Hafeez reiterated his desire to see the 21-year-old be one of Pakistan’s go-to openers in the T20 World Cup.
“Saim must play as an opener in T20 World Cup 2024 despite early failures,” he told Geo News as quoted by NDTV.
In Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand in April 2024, Ayub made 57 runs in five games at an average of 14.25 and a strike-rate of 129.54.
He then featured in the three-match T20I series against Ireland and mustered 65 runs at an average of 21.66 and a strike-rate of 151.16.
Next up for Pakistan will be four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.
The T20 World Cup will be held in the West Indies and United States of America from June 1 to 29.
Pakistan’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
Pakistan Squad for Ireland and England T20I Series: Babar Azam (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Azam Khan, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shadab Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan
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