Shan Masood: “Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique are our future; if we do not support our players, the team will continue to see frequent changes”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has selected opening batsmen Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique as the future of Pakistan cricket.
Both batsmen have shown plenty of promise in their international careers thus far, with Shafique averaging 38.56, 37.78 and 12.80 in Tests, ODIs and T20Is respectively.
As for Ayub, he averages 26.91, 41.66 and 14.71 in Tests, ODIs and T20Is respectively.
Recently, the duo were in action in Pakistan’s three-Test series against England, where Shafique amassed 132 runs, which included a top score of 102, at an average of 26.40.
Ayub, meanwhile, finished with 155 runs, which included a career-best knock of 77, at an average of 25.83.
Masood pointed out that it is important to give both batsmen enough time to prove themselves as it won’t do Pakistan any good to keep chopping and changing their openers.
“Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique are our future; if we do not support our players, the team will continue to see frequent changes,” he was quoted as saying by Samaa TV.
Following the England series, Pakistan took on Australia in a limited overs series that consisted of three ODIs and three T20Is.
The men in green won the ODIs 2-1, which gave them their first ODI series victory in Australia since 2002.
However, they were unable to maintain their momentum in the T20Is as they were whitewashed 3-0.
Next up for Pakistan will be a white-ball tour of Zimbabwe, where they will play three ODIs and three T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
Pakistan Squad for Australia ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan Squad for Australia T20I Series: Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan
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