Umar Gul: “What a talent this young boy is”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan fast bowler Umar Gul sees so much potential and talent in opening batsman Saim Ayub.
Ayub had a slow start to international cricket, but started to pick up the pace when he scored three ODI centuries and a career-best 98 not out in T20Is – all of which came during Pakistan’s tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa.
With Ayub’s stock having skyrocketed as of late, Gul admitted it is incredible to see just how good he is.
“What a talent this young boy is,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ayub fractured his ankle during Pakistan’s Test series against South Africa and subsequently missed the two-Test series against the West Indies, the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, the 2025 Champions Trophy, and the limited overs tour of New Zealand.
He returned in the ongoing 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he is playing for the Peshawar Zalmi and has scored 62 runs in four matches, which includes a top score of 50, at an average of 15.50 and a strike-rate of 106.89.
PSL 10 started on April 11 and will conclude on May 18.
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Babar Azam (captain), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore
- Diamond: Corbin Bosch, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Haris
- Gold: Abdul Samad, Hussain Talat, Nahid Rana
- Silver: Arif Yaqoob, Najibullah Zadran, Max Bryant, Mehran Mumtaz, Sufiyan Muqeem
- Emerging: Ali Raza, Maaz Sadaqat
- Supplementary: Ahmed Daniyal, Alzarri Joseph