Babar Azam: “You have to understand that Saim is coming back from injury after three months. Before that, he was in such good form that he alone could win games. After a long break, a lot goes through a player’s mind. He’s still young, give him some margin”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan batsman Babar Azam has defended Saim Ayub in the midst of his drop in form, saying the powerful opener can still win games single-handedly.
Azam pointed out that prior to fracturing his ankle in January 2025, Ayub was unstoppable as he struck three ODI centuries and a career-best 98 not out in T20Is during the tours of Zimbabwe and South Africa.
Since returning from his injury, the 23-year-old’s performance has been erratic, falling short of the dominance he once showed.
He recently played in Pakistan’s T20I tri-series against the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Afghanistan, where he made 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.
Following that, Ayub was involved in the 2025 Asia Cup, but failed to have an impact as he was limited to 37 runs in seven games at an average of 5.28 and a strike-rate of 97.36
“You have to understand that Saim is coming back from injury after three months. Before that, he was in such good form that he alone could win games. After a long break, a lot goes through a player’s mind. He’s still young, give him some margin,” he was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a home series against South Africa from October 12 to November 8.
The series will consist of two Tests, three T20Is, and three ODIs.
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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