Salman Butt: “Saim is here to stay and serve for the long term”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt is confident that opening batsman Saim Ayub “is here to stay” and will be a long-term asset for the men in green.
Ayub has been in phenomenal form over the last few months, to the point where he could arguably be classed as Pakistan’s best ODI batsman in that timeframe.
The 22-year-old scored scored 125 runs in three ODIs against Australia, which included a top score of 82, at an average of 41.66.
He then went to Zimbabwe with the Pakistan team and struck 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 finished with 60 runs in two games at an average of 60.
Ayub was then picked for the South Africa tour and began his campaign with 129 runs in two T20Is, which included a career-best knock of 98 not out, at an average of 129.
He didn’t slow down at all in the three-match ODI series, amassing 235 runs, which included two hundreds, at an average of 78.33.
As for the two-Test series, the Karachi native ended up with 41 runs at an average of 20.50. However, it should be noted that he didn’t bat in the 2nd Test in Cape Town as he fractured his ankle on the opening day.
Having seen what Ayub has accomplished in Pakistan’s last few series, Salman knows the youngster has a bright future ahead of him.
“Saim is here to stay and serve for the long term,” he was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Due to his ankle injury, Ayub missed Pakistan’s two-Test series against the West Indies in Multan, which concluded as a 1-1 draw.
He also wasn’t picked for the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, and the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will be played from February 19 to March 9.
Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah
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