Robin Uthappa: “The first time I saw Saim Ayub’s talent was in [the] CPL, 2 or 3 years ago. I was like if Pakistan don’t capitalise on a player like this, they will miss out [on] a generational talent. For the next two years, they opened with Rizwan and Babar”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former India batsman Robin Uthappa believes Pakistan should fully capitalise on Saim Ayub, describing the opener as a “generational talent.”
Uthappa knew the 23-year-old had great potential when he played in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) two to three years ago.
During that time, though, the men in green stuck with Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan as their go-to batsmen in T20Is, even though Uthappa felt Ayub might have been a better option.
Now that Ayub is a first-choice opening batsman in the shortest format, Uthappa hopes Pakistan don’t keep chopping and changing, and instead throw their full support behind the Karachi native.
“The first time I saw Saim Ayub’s talent was in [the] CPL, 2 or 3 years ago. I was like if Pakistan don’t capitalise on a player like this, they will miss out [on] a generational talent. For the next two years, they opened with Rizwan and Babar,” he was quoted as saying by PakPassion on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ayub was recently involved in the 2025 Asia Cup, where he failed to have much of an impact as he was restricted to 37 runs in seven games at an average of 5.28 and a strike-rate of 97.36.
Pakistan are now hosting South Africa, but Ayub didn’t feature in the two-Test series, which ended as a 1-1 draw.
The men in green and the Proteas will now face each other in a three-match T20I series from October 28 to November 1.
Following that, Pakistan and South Africa will play three ODIs between November 4 and 8.
After the South Africa series, Pakistan will host Sri Lanka for a three-match ODI series from November 11 to 15, and then compete in a T20I tri-series featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe from November 17 to 29.
Pakistan squad for South Africa T20I Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq
Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem
Pakistan squad for South Africa ODI Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka ODI Series: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Faisal Akram, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha
Pakistan squad for Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe T20I Tri-Series: Salman Ali Agha (captain), Abdul Samad, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Salman Mirza, Naseem Shah, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Khan (wicketkeeper), Usman Tariq
Reserves: Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Sufiyan Muqeem