Pakistan all-rounder Saim Ayub: “I was not expecting that I would see such good bowling figures. But the credit goes to the coaches who worked so much, and I also put in full effort. If I can help the team, then why not?”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan opening batsman Saim Ayub said he “put in full effort” to transform himself into an all-rounder.
Ayub’s spin bowling has proven to be very handy for the men in green, especially in T20Is, where he has taken 29 wickets in 67 matches at an average of 22.27 and an economy rate of 7.17.
In addition to his own hard work, the 23-year-old thanked Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise, the Peshawar Zalmi, for helping him a lot, along with the coaches in the national team.
“I used to do a little bit of bowling in club cricket as well, but since the PSL happened, Peshawar helped me a lot. And then when I came into the Pakistan team, they showed belief in me and did a lot of technical and tactical work with me,” he was quoted as saying by A Sports.
“To be honest, I was not expecting that I would see such good bowling figures. But the credit goes to the coaches who worked so much, and I also put in full effort. If I can help the team, then why not?”
Ayub recently represented the Hyderabad Kingsmen in PSL 11 and scored 258 runs in 13 matches, which included a top score of 54, at an average of 21.50 and a strike-rate of 119.44.
He also claimed six wickets at an average of 55.16 and an economy rate of 8.27.
Pakistan are now taking on Bangladesh in a two-Test series and find themselves 1-0 down after losing the 1st Test in Mirpur by 104 runs.
The 2nd Test began on May 16 in Sylhet.
Pakistan Squad for Bangladesh Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi