Shahid Afridi: “How much time [has] Saim Ayub needed to adjust into the team… he took 19 matches to notch his first fifty”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary Pakistan power-hitter Shahid Afridi is growing impatient with opening batsman Saim Ayub, questioning how much longer he needs to settle into the team.
Ayub has shown promising signs at the international level, but has yet to demonstrate the consistency expected of him.
This has really irked Afridi as the 23-year-old has been part of the Pakistan team for almost three years.
“How much time [has] Saim Ayub needed to adjust into the team… he took 19 matches to notch his first fifty,” Afridi said on Samaa TV programme Zor Ka Jor.
Ayub was recently involved in Pakistan’s T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan, where he accumulated 111 runs in five matches, which included a top score of 69, at an average of 22.20 and a strike-rate of 132.14.
He then featured in the 2025 Asia Cup and had a really difficult time with the bat, mustering 37 runs in seven games at an average of 5.28 and a strike-rate of 97.36.
The men in green managed to make it to the final of the tournament, but couldn’t go all the way as they lost to India by five wickets.
Pakistan will now host South Africa for two Tests, three T20Is, and three ODIs, with the series taking place from October 12 to November 8.
Pakistan squad for South Africa Test series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi
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