Mike Hesson: “You need someone who’s explosive. There’s no doubt that he wasn’t in great touch but he’s a fine player”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson firmly believes Saim Ayub is the “explosive” opening batsman Pakistan need at the top of the order.
Hesson admitted to being “a bit frustrated” that the 22-year-old hasn’t been given a consistent run and insisted that the men in green should maintain a “left-right combination at the top”.
The 49-year-old doesn’t mind whether Mohammad Rizwan or Pakistan limited overs captain Babar Azam opens the batting, but reiterated that Ayub should be opening with one of them even though he is currently going through a rough patch.
“You know, I was a bit frustrated that they changed it just leading into the World Cup. Just because I think you need that left-right combination at the top. You need someone who’s explosive. There’s no doubt that he wasn’t in great touch but he’s a fine player,” he told PakPassion.
“And for me, if you look into the future and even if you’re looking for now, that left-right combination, whether you go with Rizwan or you go with Babar, it’s fine at the top. But you have to play an explosive player and whether he’s in form or not.”
Ayub was recently in action in the 2024 T20 World Cup, but failed to have an impact as he mustered 23 runs in two matches at an average of 11.50 and a strike-rate of 79.31.
Pakistan began their campaign with back-to-back losses to the United States of America and India before rebounding to take down Canada and Ireland.
Despite winning their last two group stage matches, the men in green failed to make it through to the Super Eights.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed
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