Jason Gillespie: “Saim’s basic plan when he bowls is to spin it away from the batter on strike. He bowls off-spin to lefties and the carrom ball to right-handers”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie has praised the talent Saim Ayub possesses, saying the opening batsman and part-time spin bowler possesses the carrom ball in his arsenal.
Ayub has been called upon to bowl more often and has taken a few wickets in his international career thus far.
The 22-year-old has claimed three wickets in six Tests at an average of 45 and three wickets in six ODIs at an average of 23.66.
“Saim’s basic plan when he bowls is to spin it away from the batter on strike. He bowls off-spin to lefties and the carrom ball to right-handers,” Gillespie was quoted as saying by Grassroots Cricket on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ayub was recently in action in Pakistan’s limited overs series against Australia and scored 125 runs in three ODIs, which included a top score of 82, at an average of 41.66.
He didn’t feature in the three-match T20I series that followed.
As for the ongoing tour of Zimbabwe, the Karachi native accumulated 155 runs in three ODIs, which included a career-best 113 not out, at an average of 77.50.
In the T20I series, he made 24 runs in the first match.
Pakistan hold a 1-0 lead going into the 2nd T20I, which will take place on December 3 in Bulawayo.
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