Mohammad Hafeez: “Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub are [the] future of Pakistan cricket. May they stay away from all distractions”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez has named opening batsmen Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub as “[the] future of Pakistan cricket”.
Shafique has shown great potential in his international career thus far, but has been in and out of the team lately.
That said, he did feature in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against New Zealand and scored 70 runs at an average of 23.33.
As for Ayub, he was on fire towards the end of 2024 as he racked up three ODI centuries and a career-best 98 not out during Pakistan’s tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Recently, the duo were in action in the 2025 Pakistan Super League (PSL), with Shafique finishing as the fourth-highest run-scorer with 390 runs in 13 matches for the Lahore Qalandars, which included three fifties, at an average of 32.50 and a strike-rate of 148.28.
Ayub, meanwhile, represented the Peshawar Zalmi and made 174 runs in 10 games, which included a top score of 50, at an average of 17.40 and a strike-rate of 125.17.
Hafeez noted that in order for the pair to be successful in the future, they need to “stay away from all distractions”.
“Abdullah Shafique and Saim Ayub are [the] future of Pakistan cricket. May they stay away from all distractions,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
After PSL 10 concluded, Ayub played in Pakistan’s three-match T20I series against Bangladesh and accumulated 49 runs at an average of 16.33 and a strike-rate of 144.11.
Shafique, however, was not picked for the series, which the men in green won 3-0.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Abbas Afridi, Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hassan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan (wicketkeeper) and Saim Ayub