Aaqib Javed: “Players like Saim (Ayub) and Fakhar (Zaman) create a positive impact in matches”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan head coach Aaqib Javed has heaped praise on big-hitting batsmen Saim Ayub and Fakhar Zaman, saying they “create a positive impact in matches”.
Ayub hasn’t played for Pakistan in the past few months as he only just recovered from a fractured ankle.
Zaman, on the other hand, was recalled to the team for the ODI tri-series against New Zealand and South Africa, where he amassed 135 runs in three matches, which included a top score of 84, at an average of 45 and a strike-rate of 120.53.
He then proceeded to play in the 2025 Champions Trophy and scored 24 runs in the opening game against New Zealand before being ruled out for the remainder of the tournament with an oblique injury.
The injury resulted in Zaman missing Pakistan’s limited overs tour of New Zealand, where the men in green lost the T20Is 4-1 and the ODIs 3-0.
Despite both players having suffered injury setbacks, Aaqib acknowledged how deadly they are when they are fit and firing on all cylinders.
“Players like Saim (Ayub) and Fakhar (Zaman) create a positive impact in matches,” he was quoted as saying by Sports Tak.
Both Ayub and Zaman are now in action in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where they are representing the Peshawar Zalmi and Lahore Qalandars respectively.
Ayub has amassed 119 runs in eight matches, which includes a top score of 50, at an average of 14.87 and a strike-rate of 117.82.
As for Zaman, he has made 309 runs in nine matches, which includes three fifties, at an average of 34.33 and a strike-rate of 152.97.
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
Lahore Qalandars Squad for PSL 10:
- Platinum: Daryl Mitchell, Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain)
- Diamond: Haris Rauf, Kusal Perera, Sikandar Raza
- Gold: Abdullah Shafique, Jahandad Khan, Zaman Khan
- Silver: Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, David Wiese, Muhammad Akhlaq, Rishad Hossain
- Emerging: Mohammad Azab, Momin Qamar
- Supplementary: Muhammad Naeem, Sam Billings, Salman Ali Mirza, Tom Curran