Salman Ali Agha: “He’s so young. At his age, normally, players don’t have that kind of a head on their shoulders. He’s a great talent”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan limited overs vice-captain Salman Ali Agha has called opening batsman Saim Ayub a “great talent” and said players his age usually aren’t so calm and composed.
Ayub is going through a rich vein of form at the moment and scoring plenty of runs, which is a welcome change from the struggles he experienced when first stepping foot into the international arena.
During Pakistan’s tour of Australia, he amassed 125 runs in three ODIs, which included a top score of 82, at an average of 41.66.
The 22-year-old followed that up with 155 runs in three ODIs against Zimbabwe, which included a career-best 113 not out, at an average of 77.50.
In the three-match T20I series, he continued to impress, finishing with 60 runs in two games at an average of 60.
Pakistan are now facing South Africa and in the three-match T20I series, Ayub accumulated 129 runs in two games, which included a career-best knock of 98 not out, at an average of 129.
He remained red-hot in the three ODIs, making 235 runs, which included two centuries, at an average of 78.33.
Having seen Ayub really start stepping up over the last few series, Salman is excited about what the future holds for the Karachi native.
“He’s so young. At his age, normally, players don’t have that kind of a head on their shoulders. He’s a great talent,” he was quoted as saying by Grassroots Cricket on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan and South Africa are now playing a two-Test series, which began on December 26 in Centurion.
In the 1st Test, Ayub made 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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