Mohammad Hafeez: “Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub have great technique and tactics. As they continue to develop, their fitness is outstanding. We have seen glimpses of their abilities, and in the last few matches, they have shown that they are very good players”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has praised opening batsmen Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, saying “they are very good players”.
Hafeez noted that both of them “have great technique and tactics”, while their “fitness is outstanding”.
Ayub has been in stellar form lately as he made three ODI centuries and a career-best 98 not out in T20Is during Pakistan’s tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa.
As for Shafique, he notched up a half-century in both of the ODI series against Australia and Zimbabwe.
Even though he made three consecutive ducks in the ODI series against South Africa, Hafeez still sees plenty of promise in him and Ayub.
“Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub have great technique and tactics. As they continue to develop, their fitness is outstanding. We have seen glimpses of their abilities, and in the last few matches, they have shown that they are very good players,” he was quoted as saying by TOK Sports on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan are now playing an ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, but Ayub was ruled out since he fractured his ankle during the two-Test series against South Africa.
As for Shafique, he was not picked in the squad.
Both players also didn’t make the cut for 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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