Rashid Latif: “Saim Ayub is currently capable of playing in all three formats”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batsman Rashid Latif has expressed full confidence in young opener Saim Ayub, insisting that the talented left-hander is “capable of playing in all three formats” for the national team.
Ayub has seemingly lost his place in the Test side, but continues to be a regular feature in ODIs and T20Is.
The 23-year-old has recently produced several promising performances in white-ball cricket, starting with an unbeaten 71 in the T20I series against South Africa.
He followed that up with two half-centuries in the three-match ODI series against the Proteas before experiencing a dip in form during the subsequent ODI fixtures against Sri Lanka and the T20I tri-series featuring Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
Despite the temporary slump, Latif has faith in Ayub’s ability and backed the Karachi native to shine across all three forms of the game in the years ahead.
“Saim Ayub is currently capable of playing in all three formats,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Ayub’s form didn’t improve during the recent T20I tour of Sri Lanka as he was restricted to 30 runs in two games at an average of 15 and a strike-rate of 130.43.
Pakistan’s next assignment will be a three-match T20I series against Australia in Lahore, which is scheduled to take place between January 29 and February 1.
MORE PAKISTAN CRICKET NEWS: He plays like Kane Williamson, Ramiz Raja knows Pakistan batsman is seriously good