Ramiz Raja: “Saim Ayub is moving towards greatness and will make an omelette out of ducks”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Ramiz Raja firmly believes opening batsman Saim Ayub “is moving towards greatness” despite his string of low scores lately.
There were high expectations for Ayub going into the 2025 Asia Cup, but he failed to live up to it as he accumulated 37 runs in seven games at an average of 5.28 and a strike-rate of 97.36.
Out of those seven games, the 23-year-old made a duck four times.
Ramiz, however, is not concerned about Ayub as he knows the Karachi native will start paying dividends really soon.
“Saim Ayub is moving towards greatness and will make an omelette out of ducks,” he was quoted as saying by Khel Shel on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Pakistan are now facing South Africa on home soil and began by drawing the two-Test series 1-1.
The men in green and the Proteas will now face off in a three-match T20I series from October 28 to November 1.
Following that, Pakistan and South Africa will clash in a three-match ODI series 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