Wasim Akram: “If Pakistan open the batting with Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman, they will become a very different team in T20 cricket”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary left-arm seamer Wasim Akram believes Pakistan will be “a very different team in T20 cricket” if Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman open the batting.
Ayub is one of Pakistan’s first-choice openers right now, but Zaman has missed the team’s last few series.
Many believe the non-selection of Zaman stems from his criticism of the decision to drop Babar Azam midway through Pakistan’s three-Test series against England in October 2024.
However, limited overs head coach Aaqib Javed attributed it to his fitness, saying the 34-year-old needs to work on it.
Recently, Zaman was in action in the Champions T20 Cup, where he finished as the third-highest run-scorer with 303 runs in 10 matches for the Markhors, which included two fifties, at an average of 30.30.
Considering the firepower Zaman possesses, along with the promise Ayub is starting to show, Wasim wants them to be the go-to openers for Pakistan in T20Is.
“If Pakistan open the batting with Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman, they will become a very different team in T20 cricket,” the Sultan of Swing was quoted as saying by journalist Farid Khan on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ayub recently featured 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 was then selected for Pakistan’s series against Zimbabwe and began with 155 runs in three ODIs, which included a career-best 113 not out, at an average of 77.50.
In the three T20Is that followed, he amassed 60 runs in two games at an average of 60.
Pakistan are currently in South Africa and Ayub kicked off his tour in style as he hammered 129 runs in two T20Is, which included a career-best knock of 98 not out, at an average of 129.
He maintained his momentum in the ODIs, accumulating 235 runs in three games, which included two centuries, at an average of 78.33.
Pakistan and South Africa are now playing two Tests, with the first match having gotten underway on December 26 in Centurion.
In the 1st Test, the 22-year-old from Karachi registered scores of 14 and 27.
Pakistan Squad for South Africa T20I Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair Bin Yousuf, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa ODI Series: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan (wicketkeeper)
Pakistan Squad for South Africa Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Babar Azam, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub and Salman Ali Agha
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