Waqar Younis: “Pakistan needs to worry about his batting. If he is going to give us runs or not. At the moment, it’s not happening. He needs to dig deeper in his game to score a few runs”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Legendary speedster Waqar Younis admitted Pakistan should be worried about opener Saim Ayub’s batting as he is not scoring enough runs right now.
Ayub’s form with the bat has seen massive spikes and major dips, which has led to some questioning if he is good enough to be part of the team.
Although the 23-year-old is reinventing himself as a useful wicket-taking bowler, Waqar stressed the need for him to put greater emphasis on his batting by digging deeper and scoring more runs.
“Pakistan kept on playing him, just purely because he can bowl. You don’t need to worry about his bowling; Pakistan needs to worry about his batting. If he is going to give us runs or not. At the moment, it’s not happening. He needs to dig deeper in his game to score a few runs,” he said on Sony LIV as quoted by NDTV.
During the 2025 Asia Cup, Ayub could only make 37 runs in seven games at an average of 5.28 and a strike-rate of 97.36.
He missed the two-Test series against South Africa, but returned to take part in the three T20Is, where he accumulated 108 runs, which included a top score of 71 not out, at an average of 54 and a strike-rate of 150.
Ayub is now in action in Pakistan’s three-match ODI series against the Proteas, where he has made 92 runs in two games, which includes a top score of 53, at an average of 46.
After the South Africa series, Pakistan will challenge Sri Lanka in three ODIs from November 11 to 15, before competing in a T20I tri-series alongside Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe from November 17 to 29.
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