Ramiz Raja: “Saim Ayub is a glorious talent. He can hit lofted shots, he can play conventional drives as well”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Ramiz Raja has called opening batsman Saim Ayub a “glorious talent”.
Ramiz noted that Ayub not only plays “conventional drives”, but also possesses the ability to hit “lofted shots”.
The 22-year-old has shown off his wide range of strokes and was especially dominant during Pakistan’s tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa, where he racked up three ODI centuries and a career-best 98 not out in T20Is.
During the tour of South Africa, he fractured his ankle and was out of action for a prolonged period of time, resulting in him missing the 2025 Champions Trophy and the recent white-ball tour of New Zealand.
“Saim Ayub is a glorious talent. He can hit lofted shots, he can play conventional drives as well,” Ramiz was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Having made a full recovery, Ayub returned to feature in the ongoing 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he is playing for the Peshawar Zalmi.
In 10 matches, he has amassed 174 runs, which includes a top score of 50, at an average of 17.40 and a strike-rate of 125.17.
PSL 10 recently resumed after being postponed midway through and is now set to conclude on May 25.
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