Atiq-uz-Zaman: “Saim Ayub reminds me of Saeed Anwar with pure class and elegance. He’s a complete player, and with a full year under his belt, he’ll be dominating teams worldwide, just like Saeed bhai did in his prime”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Atiq-uz-Zaman admitted that Saim Ayub really reminds him of legendary opening batsman Saeed Anwar.
Atiq noted that the 22-year-old possesses “pure class and elegance”, and is “a complete player”.
He added that after a year, Ayub will be just as dominant as Anwar was during his prime.
“Saim Ayub reminds me of Saeed Anwar with pure class and elegance. He’s a complete player, and with a full year under his belt, he’ll be dominating teams worldwide, just like Saeed bhai did in his prime,” Atiq said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ayub recently featured in Pakistan’s white-ball series against Australia and began by scoring 125 runs in three ODIs, which included a top score of 82, at an average of 41.66.
He then took part in the limited overs series against Zimbabwe and made 155 runs in three ODIs, which included a career-best 113 not out, at an average of 77.50.
As for the three T20Is, Ayub amassed 60 runs in two games at an average of 60.
The men in green are now in South Africa and Ayub didn’t cool down at all in the three-match T20I series as he smashed 129 runs in two games, which included a career-best knock of 98 not out, at an average of 129.
The 22-year-old from Karachi continued to dominate in the ODIs, accumulating 235 runs in three matches, which included two centuries, at an average of 78.33.
Pakistan and South Africa are now playing a two-Test series, which the Proteas lead 1-0 after winning the 1st Test in Centurion by two wickets.
Ayub made scores of 14 and 27 in the 1st Test.
The 2nd Test will get underway on January 3 in Cape Town.
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
[TS_Poll id=”85″]