Shahid Afridi: “Saim is the issue, not Babar and Rizwan. Saim has been given many opportunities but he has failed to deliver”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan all-rounder Shahid Afridi has lashed out at opening batsman Saim Ayub, saying he is the problem right now.
He noted the 21-year-old has been given plenty of chances to prove himself in T20I cricket, but he has failed to score a single fifty after 20 matches.
Afridi also urged people to stop criticising limited overs captain Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan. Instead, he feels their anger should be directed towards Ayub as the Karachi native holds an important role in the Pakistan team and has failed to deliver.
“Saim is the issue, not Babar and Rizwan. Saim has been given many opportunities but he has failed to deliver. A lot of people are a fan of his talent but we need runs from Saim since the opening stand is a crucial part of the game. I think he has played [20] T20I innings but is yet to score a fifty,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Ayub scored 57 runs in Pakistan’s five-match T20I series against New Zealand at an average of 14.25 and a strike-rate of 129.54.
He then mustered 65 runs at an average of 21.66 and a strike-rate of 151.16 in the three-match T20I series against Ireland.
Next up for Pakistan will be four T20Is against England from May 22 to May 30.
After that, the men in green will participate in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which 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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