Saim Ayub - the real deal or a flash in the pan?

[Saj]

It's always great to see a young Pakistani batter looking good, showing aggression, playing stylish shots and wanting to attack the bowlers. Let's be honest we don't have many such batters at the top of the order do we.

Saim looks brilliant in the PSL and oozes confidence. His range of shots is second t o none and many feel he is the future star of Pakistan's batting.

However when you look closely at his recent numbers, it makes for sorry reading.

When I checked the stats, I had to actually double-check to ensure that I was looking at the right players numbers.

His last 11 T20I innings are as follows:

1 20 32 4 1 10 1 27 0 10 0
Total 106 runs, average 9.63, strike rate 119.10

So where are we with Saim, the real deal, still a future superstar or another flash in the pan who struggles at the highest level?

 

[Rana]

The right kind of player

Just not ready

Should have gone with Sharjeel Khan

 

[FearlessRoar]

Azhar Mahmood mentioned in today's press conference that he sees potential in a Saim and is here to boost his confidence. This statement sounds like it's from the 90s.

Saim Ayub has been given ample chances but has failed to deliver, even against the New Zealand C team. I see him as a media hyped player. I'm sure there are many batters in our domestic circuit who are 100 times better. For example, let's take Sahibzada Farhan.

 

[YousafTheBeast]

You can either have an attacking player who plays for the team or you can have a consistent player that plays for himself first, you cannot be attacking like Saim and then expect the same consistency that we’ve seen from the likes of Babar.

If Saim can do his job in 2/5 games then for me that’s good enough.

If Babar can’t do his job in 4/5 games then he’s not doing what’s expected of him. His role involves taking less risks than Saim so he’ll obviously have more chances of surviving which is why someone like Saim should be given more leeway.

 

[followed]

I don't know what to make of him yet. Maybe in his own mind he is already a superstar and maybe he doesn't want to work hard on his game if he wants to succeed he should put his head down and keep working on his game and he can succeed for sure.

He should open the innings always along with fakhar zaman that pair might work better rather than other ultra slow openers.

 

[gazza619]

The right kind of player

Just not ready

Should have gone with Sharjeel Khan

The same Sharjeel who cant even find a spot in the below average PSL?

 

[Rana]

Probably needs to get rid of those fine leg shots if he isn’t going to build enough power to clear the fielder

Predictably caught at fine leg most of the time

 

[mominsaigol]

The thing Is players like haris, Saim, Usman Khan, Tayyab, Saud, Abdullah

They all have immense potential and a positive attitude well maybe not Abdullah but the others 100%.

Problem is their not ready and I fear Pakistan won't be able to ever make them ready.

You always need to back and turn these players into superstars based of their intent alone.

Babar, chacha and rizwan send a bad message, although if babar can replicate what he did yesterday then I'm happy to forward babar 24/7

 

[NeVerMind]

Now that he bowls a bit too, I will happily take a real youngster over Chacha Rickshaw...

 

[ExpressPacer]

Saim Ayub is a prodigy. Dropping him now will only shatter his confidence and ruin his development. We did the same with Muhammad Haris and now the knives are already out for Saim.

He’s going through a lean patch and the PCT environment doesn’t really produce a lot of confidence either. Give the guy some slack.

 

[FearlessRoar]

Azhar Mahmood mentioned in today's press conference that he sees potential in a Saim and is here to boost his confidence. This statement sounds like it's from the 90s.

Saim Ayub has been given ample chances but has failed to deliver, even against the New Zealand C team. I see him as a media hyped player. I'm sure there are many batters in our domestic circuit who are 100 times better. For example, let's take Sahibzada Farhan.

During today's press conference, Pakistan's assistant coach, Azhar Mahmood, said:

"Selection of Sharjeel Khan depends on the selection committee; Sharjeel has shown no recent performance. If we talk about Saim Ayub in the opening position, we have seen his combination with Babar Azam in PSL 9, where they had four hundred-plus partnerships. Unfortunately, he hasn't scored in this series, but he has a lot of potential. He has the ability and skills; it's just about the confidence and how to handle the pressure of international cricket after transitioning from domestic cricket. And this is our job as coaches around the world: to give confidence to the players and to correct some mistakes in their techniques."

 

[Rana]

During today's press conference, Pakistan's assistant coach, Azhar Mahmood, said:

"Selection of Sharjeel Khan depends on the selection committee; Sharjeel has shown no recent performance. If we talk about Saim Ayub in the opening position, we have seen his combination with Babar Azam in PSL 9, where they had four hundred-plus partnerships. Unfortunately, he hasn't scored in this series, but he has a lot of potential. He has the ability and skills; it's just about the confidence and how to handle the pressure of international cricket after transitioning from domestic cricket. And this is our job as coaches around the world: to give confidence to the players and to correct some mistakes in their techniques."

Sharjeel Khan

The name that cannot die

Dehshat of the name

 

[Markhor]

Someone needs to have a hard talk with Saim.

He bats like he's already a legend. Instead of playing shots for social media - focus on doing the basics.

In the 4th T20 after making a good start, he got a harmless delivery that should've been belted into the stands but instead he caught on the boundary playing a wristy flick.

I'm all for investing in youth - but that investment must come with accountability and his numbers are atrocious after 15 T20I innings. It's not just his average but his weak SR of 125 when he's meant to play an aggressive role.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Someone needs to have a hard talk with Saim.

He bats like he's already a legend. Instead of playing shots for social media - focus on doing the basics.

In the 4th T20 after making a good start, he got a harmless delivery that should've been belted into the stands but instead he caught on the boundary playing a wristy flick.

I'm all for investing in youth - but that investment must come with accountability and his numbers are atrocious after 15 T20I innings. It's not just his average but his weak SR of 125 when he's meant to play an aggressive role.

And turn him into an accumulator? The last thing we need is to discourage Saim from taking risks. Any other day, that shot could’ve been a glorious wrists flick for six or four that would have us chanting his name.

Let Saim play the way he play. With respect, we have a really strong group of great accumulators with solid techniques. We don’t need to turn Saim into one. What we don’t have is a single player like Saim (or Haris), let these guys do what they do. Such is Saim’s talent that he will eventually come good.

For when he doesn’t, the others need to step. He plays an attacking and risky brand of cricket but it’s one that instills panic in the opposition and Pakistan really lacks that.

 

[Savak]

International teams have worked out how to bowl to him and entice him into hitting it straight to the fielder at square leg. It's up to him to adapt.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Shot selection probably needs to improve a bit but you can't drop a player like Saim. Players like him donot come along that often. So when they do you need to invest in them and give them the long rope. All he needs is a couple of good knocks to get his confidence going.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Shot selection probably needs to improve a bit but you can't drop a player like Saim. Players like him donot come along that often. So when they do you need to invest in them and give them the long rope. All he needs is a couple of good knocks to get his confidence going.

Knowing Pakistan, we will probably drop him and then discard him like we did with Mohammad Haris.

Pakistan is addicted to slow accumulators from 1 to 11.

 

[emranabbas]

saim is only 21, and its way to early to write him off.

normally teams would introduce a player with potential and then develop that player to be a world class player

we know he has potential, its the management and the captain that lacks skill to develop him into a decent players

to start of with management changes every 6 months and the captain is just selfish and probably feels insecure to develop all these young players.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Knowing Pakistan, we will probably drop him and then discard him like we did with Mohammad Haris.

Pakistan is addicted to slow accumulators from 1 to 11.

If it was any other country, guys like Saim and Haris would be automatic selections in any white-ball team.

Look at Finn Allen. look at how many times he failed for New Zealand in T20Is and ODIs. And yet they still persisted with him. Right now, statistically, he is one of the most destructive T20 openers in the world.

You can't create match-winners overnight because no league or domestic system compares to the pressure of international cricket.

 

[emranabbas]

Knowing Pakistan, we will probably drop him and then discard him like we did with Mohammad Haris.

Pakistan is addicted to slow accumulators from 1 to 11.

players like muhammed harris and saim ayub need to be given a long rope for that we need to rest rizwan and babar in dead rubbers and vs C/D teams and teams like nepal but this isn't going to happen because these are the only tours where babar and rizwan can flex their muscles.

 

[emranabbas]

If it was any other country, guys like Saim and Haris would be automatic selections in any white-ball team.

Look at Finn Allen. look at how many times he failed for New Zealand in T20Is and ODIs. And yet they still persisted with him. Right now, statistically, he is one of the most destructive T20 openers in the world.

You can't create match-winners overnight because no league or domestic system compares to the pressure of international cricket.

the pakistanis expect match winners to drop from the sky like kudrat ka nazam

its the management and captains duty to develop a match winners

nothing is going to happen under brainless captain babar

its more likely Muhammad haris and saim will be dropped for good in the next year or so

 

[MHN1293]

Saim should be given a longer run. And please give haris another chance. If not opening i would like him to play at 5 cuz he is the only batsmen who can score from the get go against pacers

 

[heddie19]

He is a talent for sure but I am not sure how he will turnout to be. Want him to succeed badly. We need a dasher at the top.

 

[Rana]

He is a talent for sure but I am not sure how he will turnout to be. Want him to succeed badly. We need a dasher at the top.

Why can’t your King start dashing having played 20000 T20s as an opener with no question to his position????

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Seamers moving it away from offstump seem to trouble Saim.

 

[mominsaigol]

And turn him into an accumulator? The last thing we need is to discourage Saim from taking risks. Any other day, that shot could’ve been a glorious wrists flick for six or four that would have us chanting his name.

Let Saim play the way he play. With respect, we have a really strong group of great accumulators with solid techniques. We don’t need to turn Saim into one. What we don’t have is a single player like Saim (or Haris), let these guys do what they do. Such is Saim’s talent that he will eventually come good.

For when he doesn’t, the others need to step. He plays an attacking and risky brand of cricket but it’s one that instills panic in the opposition and Pakistan really lacks that.

Saim, Haris, Usman, Fakhar, Tayyab.

Pcb and misbah clique posters don't understand that these players are virtually undroppable unless their hasbeens.

Goal needs to be to groom and nurture and you sadly can't do that when misbah created a system of accumulators and someone like yousaf our batting coach thinks having the boys practise six hitting on 20kph halwa balls that a 9 year old could throw is efficient match practise.

Our batting, fielding and bowling coaches are terrible and their videos showcasing how poorly they actually help our players, and misbah still lives on in the form of Babar, rizwan and chacha.

 

[Markhor]

And turn him into an accumulator? The last thing we need is to discourage Saim from taking risks. Any other day, that shot could’ve been a glorious wrists flick for six or four that would have us chanting his name.

Let Saim play the way he play. With respect, we have a really strong group of great accumulators with solid techniques. We don’t need to turn Saim into one. What we don’t have is a single player like Saim (or Haris), let these guys do what they do. Such is Saim’s talent that he will eventually come good.

For when he doesn’t, the others need to step. He plays an attacking and risky brand of cricket but it’s one that instills panic in the opposition and Pakistan really lacks that.

A SR of 125 doesn't indicate an attacking and risky brand of cricket does it ? So he's not playing the aggressor role given to him either.

The problem isn't taking risk, but how you increase the chance of successfully executing those high risk, attacking shots.

That ball from O'Rourke was a harmless, rubbish delivery on the pads. Instead he tries to showboat for the cameras with a flick. Why increase the risk of failure ? Just bottom hand smash it for god sake.

 

[mominsaigol]

Why can’t your King start dashing having played 20000 T20s as an opener with no question to his position????

Babar has a 49 ball 100 against the strongest SA team on the planet.

 

[Rana]

Babar has a 49 ball 100 against the strongest SA team on the planet .

He desperately is asking for a dasher up top because Babar won’t take any responsibility and will have to cop all the criticism if someone doesn’t do the work for him

 

[Markhor]

the pakistanis expect match winners to drop from the sky like kudrat ka nazam

its the management and captains duty to develop a match winners

nothing is going to happen under brainless captain babar

its more likely Muhammad haris and saim will be dropped for good in the next year or so

It's a two way street. Players must work on their game and stop making the same mistakes.

Saim's played 18 international matches now, a longer run than most Pakistani youngsters have received in the past, and still hasn't produced a single substantive knock. Most of his opponents haven't even been at full strength !

He's meant to play an aggressor role yet his SR of 125 is no better than the accumulator batsmen we bemoan.

All this talk of investment in youth is great. However this is elite level sport and whether you're a senior or junior player is irrelevant - if you can't perform then off to the bench you go.

 

[emranabbas]

It's a two way street. Players must work on their game and stop making the same mistakes.

Saim's played 18 international matches now, a longer run than most Pakistani youngsters have received in the past, and still hasn't produced a single substantive knock. Most of his opponents haven't even been at full strength !

He's meant to play an aggressor role yet his SR of 125 is no better than the accumulator batsmen we bemoan.

All this talk of investment in youth is great. However this is elite level sport and whether you're a senior or junior player is irrelevant - if you can't perform then off to the bench you go.

that's the job of the coach/management to analyse his game, what they doing sleeping?

 

[DeadlyVenom]

He's the real deal. 15 t20s are nothing. Its like the length of one franchise season. A month's worth of cricket.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Compared to the beasts going around in the world this guy is a baccha. He has the intent. From pakistan perspective worth seeing a bit more of him as they have no other choice left.

 

[Markhor]

that's the job of the coach/management to analyse his game, what they doing sleeping?

Players don't have any responsibility to analyse and identify weaknesses in their own game ?

Even presuming the management are doing that - the player still needs to go to the nets and spend the hours ironing out their weaknesses.

Sorry but Pakistan fans have a very idealistic view where coaches are somehow expected to turn water into wine. These are grown men, the coaches cannot do everything for them.

The mediocre performances show this lot doesn't work hard enough and lack any self-awareness with rare exceptions. The PCB social media content suggests cake parties, looking good for the cameras and milestone celebrating is more a priority than actual results.

 

[emranabbas]

Players don't have any responsibility to analyse and identify weaknesses in their own game ?

Even presuming the management are doing that - the player still needs to go to the nets and spend the hours ironing out their weaknesses.

Sorry but Pakistan fans have a very idealistic view where coaches are somehow expected to turn water into wine. These are grown men, the coaches cannot do everything for them.

The mediocre performances show this lot doesn't work hard enough and lack any self-awareness with rare exceptions. The PCB social media content suggests cake parties and milestone celebrating is more a priority than actual results.

good idea bro lets sack the coaches and let the players take their own responsibility at least PCB will save some money

 

[U$ofA]

And turn him into an accumulator? The last thing we need is to discourage Saim from taking risks. Any other day, that shot could’ve been a glorious wrists flick for six or four that would have us chanting his name.

Let Saim play the way he play. With respect, we have a really strong group of great accumulators with solid techniques. We don’t need to turn Saim into one. What we don’t have is a single player like Saim (or Haris), let these guys do what they do. Such is Saim’s talent that he will eventually come good.

For when he doesn’t, the others need to step. He plays an attacking and risky brand of cricket but it’s one that instills panic in the opposition and Pakistan really lacks that.

All evidence to the contrary. So far he seems to be the one panicking and playing poor shots. Last night was evidence and so is his international stats so far.

 

[Markhor]

good idea bro lets sack the coaches and let the players take their own responsibility at least PCB will save some money

International coaches make a limited impact at this level. At best they can do some finetuning.

All these excited fans today expecting Gillespie and Kirsten to turn these sorry lot into Bradmans and Richards will get a rude awakening.

It makes no difference if the players have no work ethic, no desire to improve and if, like you believe, "have no responsibility to analyse their own game."

Goodness, you really read some gems from Pakistan cricket fans. No wonder the country is in a lamentable state where we expect others to make us great and do all the work for us.

 

[U$ofA]

Shot selection probably needs to improve a bit but you can't drop a player like Saim. Players like him donot come along that often. So when they do you need to invest in them and give them the long rope. All he needs is a couple of good knocks to get his confidence going.

How much longer a rope? He is 17 games in and has done zilch. I mean not even a single inning of anything. Add to that a chance in tests too. Which returned zilch a well.

 

[U$ofA]

Why can’t your King start dashing having played 20000 T20s as an opener with no question to his position????

Exactly. He has already played plenty of domestic T20's. So, no point in sending him back there.

 

[emranabbas]

International coaches make a limited impact at this level. At best they can do some finetuning.

All these excited fans today expecting Gillespie and Kirsten to turn these sorry lot into Bradmans and Richards will get a rude awakening.

It makes no difference if the players have no work ethic, no desire to improve and if, like you believe, "have no responsibility to analyse their own game."

Goodness, you really read some gems from Pakistan cricket fans.

the purpose of the coach role is to bring out the best in a players abilities through identifying areas for development and implementing appropriate tactics and strategies to release their full potential.

Sometimes a player might not be able to spot their own errors.

The coach's role extends beyond mere fine-tuning, contrary to what you might believe.

Moreover, simply practicing in the nets without recognizing and addressing mistakes won't be beneficial. Spending hours training aimlessly won't enhance anyone's performance. I'm not sure why you'd think that would be effective.

Perhaps fans have a clearer understanding than you, so there's no need to feel frustrated with them.

I've often seen coaches un the dugout with laptops, analyzing batsmen. If you look up cricket analysis on YouTube, you'll find numerous videos that can provide a deeper insight into this subject.

 

[Markhor]

the purpose of the coach role is to bring out the best in a players abilities through identifying areas for development and implementing appropriate tactics and strategies to release their full potential.

Sometimes a player might not be able to spot their own errors.

The coach's role extends beyond mere fine-tuning, contrary to what you might believe.

Moreover, simply practicing in the nets without recognizing and addressing mistakes won't be beneficial. Spending hours training aimlessly won't enhance anyone's performance. I'm not sure why you'd think that would be effective.

Perhaps fans have a clearer understanding than you, so there's no need to feel frustrated with them.

I've often seen coaches un the dugout with laptops, analyzing batsmen. If you look up cricket analysis on YouTube, you'll find numerous videos that can provide a deeper insight into this subject.

Respectfully you should check your own cricket understanding given you've just stated today that Imran Khan "began the trend of political interference" in Pakistan cricket which is transparently false.

I'll watch those YouTube videos and you can do some basic reading on PCB's constitution.

Addressing your point now. Who's saying aimlessly practice in the nets ? Does the lad have a gun to his head saying he cannot approach the analyst or coaches for help ? Again, it's a two way street. Coaches can speak to players, show them videos, consistently select them in the team - but the player must also contribute to their own betterment.

We've had a litany of big name coaches, foreign and local, for 20 years and yet we remain a mediocre cricket nation. Perhaps there's a bigger issue than the Pakistan head coach ?

Finally, if a player makes the same mistakes after 18 international matches and whose output remains mediocre, then they should be held accountable, regardless if they're a senior or junior player.

Why's that so controversial ?

 

[Kianig89]

Flopped in Aus, Flopped in NZ , Flopped in Bangladesh and now Flopped in Pakistan what next , all those selectors and coaches who hyped him should be criminally penalised

 

[emranabbas]

Respectfully you should check your own cricket understanding given you've just stated today that Imran Khan "began the trend of political interference" in Pakistan cricket which is transparently false.

I'll watch those YouTube videos and you can do some basic reading on PCB's constitution.

Addressing your point now. Who's saying aimlessly practice in the nets ? Does the lad have a gun to his head saying he cannot approach the analyst or coaches for help ? Again, it's a two way street. Coaches can speak to players, show them videos, consistently select them in the team - but the player must also contribute to their own betterment.

We've had a litany of big name coaches, foreign and local, for 20 years and yet we remain a mediocre cricket nation. Perhaps there's a bigger issue than the Pakistan head coach ?

Finally, if a player makes the same mistakes after 18 international matches and whose output remains mediocre, then they should be held accountable, regardless if they're a senior or junior player.

Why's that so controversial ?

what's this even got anything to do with this topic? check all your posts in this thread your the one started thumping chest on here saying fans don't know anything and you know it all.

glad we made a progress so we have gone from "the coaches only do fine tuning" to "lad can approach analysts or coaches"

 

[Markhor]

what's this even got anything to do with this topic? check all your posts in this thread your the one started thumping chest on here saying fans don't know anything and you know it all.

glad we made a progress so we have gone from "the coaches only do fine tuning" to "lad can approach analysts or coaches"

Brother I gave you a detailed multiparagraph reply to your post, and you reduced it all to this one line sarcastic jibe.

good idea bro lets sack the coaches and let the players take their own responsibility at least PCB will save some money

If that's the depth of discourse I see no point in prolonging the argument.

 

[emranabbas]

Brother I gave you a detailed multiparagraph reply to your post, and you reduced it all to this one line sarcastic jibe.

If that's the depth of discourse I see no point in prolonging the argument.

seriously speaking after reading the following paragraph i didn't think it was worth discussing this topic any further with you, especially if you think the coaches have no role in the development of a player. so i kept it short and sweet and agreed lets sack the coaches. but it goes back down to Sometimes a player might not be able to spot their own errors and need to be told and guided. to be fair if he's making the same mistake again and again it is the coaches responsibility to point it out as that's what the coach is getting paid for.

Sorry but Pakistan fans have a very idealistic view where coaches are somehow expected to turn water into wine. These are grown men, the coaches cannot do everything for them.

 

[Markhor]

seriously speaking after reading the following paragraph i didn't think it was worth discussing this topic any further with you, especially if you think the coaches have no role in the development of a player. so i kept it short and sweet and agreed lets sack the coaches. but it goes back down to Sometimes a player might not be able to spot their own errors and need to be told and guided. to be fair if he's making the same mistake again and again it is the coaches responsibility to point it out as that's what the coach is getting paid for.

Except that's not what I said.

I've stated twice, including in my very first reply to you, it's a two way street with players and coaches !

Putting words in other peoples' mouths doesn't boost one's argument. Anyway I'll let others read for themselves and draw their own conclusions.

 

[Inswinging Yorker]

Clearly a minnow basher. Does well in low quality leagues like CPL and PSL. Will struggle big time against quality attacks like Australia, England, India New Zealand. Will fail against the test playing nations more often than not.

 

[PakHammer]

I guess he will given another chance in the England tour. If he fails, then he will benched for T20 World Cup and Riz/Bar will be the openers again.

 

[mominsaigol]

Pakistan had been in an eternal rebuilding phase since 2012 lol.

Nothing will change. Changes need to be first made on a coaching level and selection level and take it from their.

It doesn't help that you keep resorting to misbah and waqar 24/7.

 

[ahmadharis1]

Needs to be persisted with.

He has the modern mindset that Pakistan desperately needs.

Players like him aren't made in a day, they need time and patience.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

How much longer a rope? He is 17 games in and has done zilch. I mean not even a single inning of anything. Add to that a chance in tests too. Which returned zilch a well.

Bro 17 T20 games are nothing in the grand scheme of things. The best recent example that comes to mind is that of Zak Crawley. Look at how many times he failed. And not even in T20s but tests. There was a period of one year between 2021 and 2022 where he didn't even score a fifty. But McCullum persisted with him even when everyone including myself thought that he should be dropped. In 2021 Crawley's average for the year was 10.81 across 8 tests. But gradually he started improving and repaying that faith.

Since 2023, he has averaged 42.3 at a SR of 79 in tests. And he has played the bulk of these matches against Australia and India.

That's how you create players. When you see something in someone with obvious talent you have to have a certain level of little blind faith and forget about numbers. Not for every player. But for certain players. And I feel like Saim is one of those players.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

the pakistanis expect match winners to drop from the sky like kudrat ka nazam

its the management and captains duty to develop a match winners

nothing is going to happen under brainless captain babar

its more likely Muhammad haris and saim will be dropped for good in the next year or so

Not a fan of Babar's captaincy but I don't think you can blame him for everything. I think when you get guys whose talent stands out, its up to the entire system (PCB, coaches, selectors, captain) to ensure that those players are given a special focus and attention they need to reach their true potential. It happens in every sport and every country, except Pakistan. Because our cricket is not run by professionals. Its run by idiots who barely understand anything about cricket because they are political appointees. They understand cricket about as deeply as those 60 year old uncles at your family gatherings do.

 

[gazza619]

Flash in the frying pan

 

[Cricket Warrior]

That's what happens when you pick someone without playing much domestic cricket. I m still convinced that if Sahibzada Farhan had been given as many chances so he must have won so many matches for Pakistan.

 

[RyanRyan10]

Someone needs to have a hard talk with Saim.

He bats like he's already a legend. Instead of playing shots for social media - focus on doing the basics.

In the 4th T20 after making a good start, he got a harmless delivery that should've been belted into the stands but instead he caught on the boundary playing a wristy flick.

I'm all for investing in youth - but that investment must come with accountability and his numbers are atrocious after 15 T20I innings. It's not just his average but his weak SR of 125 when he's meant to play an aggressive role.

Strike rate is irrelevant here, considering Saim has been a total failure. Generally, when batters fail completely, their strike rate are also low. Saim's average is 15, which is at the same level as a tailender in terms of performance.

 

[ExpressPacer]

A SR of 125 doesn't indicate an attacking and risky brand of cricket does it ? So he's not playing the aggressor role given to him either.

The problem isn't taking risk, but how you increase the chance of successfully executing those high risk, attacking shots.

That ball from O'Rourke was a harmless, rubbish delivery on the pads. Instead he tries to showboat for the cameras with a flick. Why increase the risk of failure ? Just bottom hand smash it for god sake.

SR, in isolation, does not paint a clear picture. The fact of the matter is that Saim has not spent enough time on the pitch which naturally results in a lower SR. It is a problem itself that he is getting out early but if you were to compare these stats with another Pakistani batsman who spent a similar amount of time in the middle over a period of games, the SR would be even lower. It is only natural that the SR is limited at the start of the innings.

Also, might I add, of the 17 games Saim has played, 14-15 of them have been against NZ. He needs a longer rope and needs to be tested against other players before passing conclusions on him.

In any event, with the high quality of cricket being played in leagues these days, and the low quality sides being fielded in internationals, you cannot ignore his exploits in the PSL and the CPL, where he was MOTM afaik. Definitely has justified a longer rope and the freedom to play as he wishes because we have enough accumulators in the side.

 

[ExpressPacer]

All evidence to the contrary. So far he seems to be the one panicking and playing poor shots. Last night was evidence and so is his international stats so far.

You might be a body language expert but I don’t think he’s reflected any examples of panic.

This is the nature of his game. He takes risks, which when come off, go viral and turn into trends, and most of all, make the opposition panic about how he might take the game away from them in a few overs.

When it doesn’t come off, fans like us are out for his head critiquing every single move the poor boy has made.

In any event, who do we have to replace him? TTFs and age fudgers like Sahibzada Farhan? Accumulators like Rizwan back to opening? Sharjeel Khan who won’t even be picked by PSL sides?

Give solutions mate if you’re going to bring out the knives.

 

[ExpressPacer]

If it was any other country, guys like Saim and Haris would be automatic selections in any white-ball team.

Look at Finn Allen. look at how many times he failed for New Zealand in T20Is and ODIs. And yet they still persisted with him. Right now, statistically, he is one of the most destructive T20 openers in the world.

You can't create match-winners overnight because no league or domestic system compares to the pressure of international cricket.

Precisely. But as I’ve said before, Pakistan is addicted to accumulators who play for their personal average and help post a 150 score only to say they were only 10-15 runs short.

Don’t get me wrong, there is room for accumulators but Saim is a generational talent. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone has good as him in the last 10 years.

The ease with which he plays pace and hits sixes is only something Babar and Rizwan can dream of - and I say that as a fan of both.

 

[ExpressPacer]

Saim, Haris, Usman, Fakhar, Tayyab.

Pcb and misbah clique posters don't understand that these players are virtually undroppable unless their hasbeens.

Goal needs to be to groom and nurture and you sadly can't do that when misbah created a system of accumulators and someone like yousaf our batting coach thinks having the boys practise six hitting on 20kph halwa balls that a 9 year old could throw is efficient match practise.

Our batting, fielding and bowling coaches are terrible and their videos showcasing how poorly they actually help our players, and misbah still lives on in the form of Babar, rizwan and chacha.

I agree that the above players are crucial for our batting setup but to blame Misbah for everything is just a weak argument.

Misbah was a visionary, and when he played cricket 10 years ago, we needed accumulators because our top order could not even hold their wicket let alone hit big and play positively. Man, they used to get out trying to block.
It was a shame… I’ve lost count of the amount of times I saw scorecards of 10-3 or 20-4.

At the time, and I don’t know if you watched cricket them, we NEEDED someone to accumulate. However, with the fame and popularity that Babar got thanks to his stability and accumulation, it set a wrong a precedent encouraging everyone to become an accumulator.

Therefore, to blame Misbah is wrong. He did what we needed as captain and to a lesser extent as coach. The times have now changed.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Precisely. But as I’ve said before, Pakistan is addicted to accumulators who play for their personal average and help post a 150 score only to say they were only 10-15 runs short.

Don’t get me wrong, there is room for accumulators but Saim is a generational talent. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone has good as him in the last 10 years.

The ease with which he plays pace and hits sixes is only something Babar and Rizwan can dream of - and I say that as a fan of both.

That's not a phrase that should be thrown around lightly. But I agree, Saim is a generational talent. And backing him is really important for the future of our cricket because if he realizes his true potential then he will inspire numerous others to play that way. That's something that always tends to happen when a player that does things differently comes along ala Abdul Qadir, Wasim Akram, AB de Villiers.

Babar is incredible. I truly believe that he could have been successful in any era of cricket. But playing super-aggressively and taking big risks is not his game. And when I look at other teams and see players like Klaasen, Head, Pooran, Pant, Stubbs, Jake Fraser-McGurk, I feel like we are getting left behind.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

I feel like certain posters here will not be happy no matter what players do.

Do you really want to discourage Saim Ayub from playing this way? Because if you discourage him from playing this way then you're essentially telling him not play his natural game and be conservative. If he starts playing conservatively you will say we have another accumulator. And guess what? you'd be right.

You think he doesn't know his shot selection could have been better when he gets out? Obviously he does. But that comes with the territory when you play aggressive cricket and go after the bowlers. You're always playing with that risk-reward ratio. But what makes free-flowing players like Saim different is that they can even smash good balls for fours and sixes when they have their confidence going, which most players may not necessarily be able to.

I don't care if Saim Ayub fails 50 times. He should open the batting for Pakistan in every T20 going forward. That's how much blind faith I have in him, and that's how much blind faith everyone should have in him.

 

[GreenKhan]

People who think Pakistan should persist with Saim at this present moment really need to think about whether they are supporting team Pak or the player .

Saim has been an absolute failure in t20
Internationals. He’s had 17 games . Enough is enough. Not even single 50 and a SR of 125.
If after 17 games he had an average of 20@140 I would have backed him . But his average is 15 and SR is 125!

We have all waited for this one innings and it has not come .

He is 22 will come again , but PCB has backed him however he has fluffed his lines No choice now but to drop him unfortunately.

 

[U$ofA]

You might be a body language expert but I don’t think he’s reflected any examples of panic.

This is the nature of his game. He takes risks, which when come off, go viral and turn into trends, and most of all, make the opposition panic about how he might take the game away from them in a few overs.

When it doesn’t come off, fans like us are out for his head critiquing every single move the poor boy has made.

In any event, who do we have to replace him? TTFs and age fudgers like Sahibzada Farhan? Accumulators like Rizwan back to opening? Sharjeel Khan who won’t even be picked by PSL sides?

Give solutions mate if you’re going to bring out the knives.

I am not calling for axing him....yet. He should definitely get the 4 games in Eng. But he has to score in the series. At least two 50+ scores for him to stay in the conversation of Pak. team.

But if he fails, then no way he stays on. By the end of the Eng. series, will have a sample size of 20+ games. That is a good indicator.

 

[offstump]

I am not calling for axing him....yet. He should definitely get the 4 games in Eng. But he has to score in the series. At least two 50+ scores for him to stay in the conversation of Pak. team.

But if he fails, then no way he stays on. By the end of the Eng. series, will have a sample size of 20+ games. That is a good indicator.

Pakistan have no choice but to persist with him. England and Ireland before the WC. Who is goona come in and play the opener role? We’ll be back to Rizwan and Babar, although a good duo not aggressive enough for what we need. My only hope is Kirsten can work something up, whether it’s mental or a technical flaw.

 

[mominsaigol]

I agree that the above players are crucial for our batting setup but to blame Misbah for everything is just a weak argument.

Misbah was a visionary, and when he played cricket 10 years ago, we needed accumulators because our top order could not even hold their wicket let alone hit big and play positively. Man, they used to get out trying to block.
It was a shame… I’ve lost count of the amount of times I saw scorecards of 10-3 or 20-4.

At the time, and I don’t know if you watched cricket them, we NEEDED someone to accumulate. However, with the fame and popularity that Babar got thanks to his stability and accumulation, it set a wrong a precedent encouraging everyone to become an accumulator.

Therefore, to blame Misbah is wrong. He did what we needed as captain and to a lesser extent as coach. The times have now changed.

Misbah the visionary

1) Randomly selects Umar Amin a debutant to be his vc and brings Imran farhat as his opener despite IF proving that he can hit an odi century at a snails pace once in every 20 games while failing horrifically in the next game (great visionary)

2) Has nasir jamshed open over sarfraz for 6 games claiming jamshed has never gotten enough chances even though it's a cup and sarfraz was rhe highest run scorer in 2014 Australia series both avg and sr wise he was the highest, Similar treatment of fawad alam who was your highest runnscorer in the middle order inn2014 calender year. Jamshed who didn't even get a single double digit score in 6 games lol.

3) As chief selector and coach decided to bring in Ahmed shehzad, Umar akmal and imam at a t20 opener, despite these 3 not even being part of the set up and Pakistan was already ranked no 1 in t20 before misbah came in.

4) He then proceeded to have our no 1 t20 lose lose even against Zimbabwe because it was his idea to fill the middle order with kushdil shah, Asof Ali and chacha, 2 of which have vroghtfully gotten the boot and the 3rd must be departed.

Oh and he also started the rizbabar opening combo, something I assume you don't like because you clearly want haris and Saim to open, guess why that hasn't happened yet? Who appointed this combo?

5) Oh and don't forget misbah the visionary bringing a 37 yesterday old irfan out of retirement home to face Australia.


Visionary my foot. . Misbah has made 3 good decisions in his life, which is

1) Appointing asad shafiq at no 6 in test who was surprisingly good.

2) Having sarfi as your test no 7 and having yasir shah replace saeed ajmal, Yasir shah being a supringly good test bowler.

^^ That's it, that's all the credit he gets, under him the test opening with shehzad and hafeez was medicore. The azhar, YK and Misbah middle order which is considered an atg combo was inherited, so was the bowling unit with ajmal, gul etc already being established members of the set up.

Although he was good when it came to red ball cricket on field decisions.

Visionary my foot.

 

[mazkhan]

He will fail in Ireland and England

Experiment should be over we need to start playing the xi for the world cup and get them ready .


Saim had his chance in this home series against an inexperienced nz bowling unit on home pitches and he failed big time

This guy is another asif ali who kept on leading everyone on about he is a six machine and gun player we waited and waited and waited and that gun innings never came .

 

[Energy]

He has been poor. And it is not clear if he will go on to become a great player, or remain average.

BUT.

Saim, Usman and Azam are a must in the T20I XI for this World Cup. Investment has been made into them, and the management needs to give them confidence to get the best out of them.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Potential is there but In Pakistan only one of 10 players with huge potential actually makes it count , rest of them fizzle away , like Ahmed Shahzad , Umar Akmal , Imran Farhat , Imran Nazir , Kamran Akmal , Haider Ali , Shahid Yousuf etc , so there is a 90% chance that Haris, Saim , Abdullah ,Usman Khan will just fail or have an ordinary career like Ahmed Shahzad or Umar Akmal. Sadly we couldn't change anything before in the past nor we will now.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

Problem with current young guns with huge potential is that they are not even performing in even one game out of 10 , All others players with huge potential even though failed miserably later on but at least all of them had a terrific starts to their International career or atleast 3/4 great innings at the very start , the current lot not even managing that. So it's indicates that the gulf in quality of domestic cricketers and International players from other countries is getting huge.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

I can see Haseebullah will get some success and can be our next M.Rizwan , the guy puts heavy price on his wicket and can play all shots as well.

 

[Muhammad Saad]

The only way to build batsmen in our setup is to pick 2/3 highly talented batters like right after U19 world cup and one FC season (even if they didn't do anything extra ordinary) and keep them with the National team and play them for 2 years each and every game Pak plays even if they fails , out of the 3 one batter will definitely clicks and will be ready for national team in 2 years times as he will be getting quality coach at relatively young age and an exposure of International cricket at the same.

Our batting greats of Past like Zaheer Abbas , Majid Khan , Javed Miandad ,Inzi , Yousuf , Younus , all of them build their game after grinding in county cricket with bouncy/seamy pitches alongside with quality coaching , so even in the past our domestic cricket never gave us any quality batters at all so the only way to improve the young guns is to play them very young and keep them even if they fail.

 

[Ali T]

It's concerning that he wasn't playing against a full NZ bowling lineup but maybe just needs time to settle the nerves.

Problem is, if he's nervous now, imagine his nerves during the WC.

He needs to keep playing for Pakistan - too good a player otherwise.

 

[mazkhan]

Bro 17 T20 games are nothing in the grand scheme of things. The best recent example that comes to mind is that of Zak Crawley. Look at how many times he failed. And not even in T20s but tests. There was a period of one year between 2021 and 2022 where he didn't even score a fifty. But McCullum persisted with him even when everyone including myself thought that he should be dropped. In 2021 Crawley's average for the year was 10.81 across 8 tests. But gradually he started improving and repaying that faith.

Since 2023, he has averaged 42.3 at a SR of 79 in tests. And he has played the bulk of these matches against Australia and India.

That's how you create players. When you see something in someone with obvious talent you have to have a certain level of little blind faith and forget about numbers. Not for every player. But for certain players. And I feel like Saim is one of those players.

Zak Crawley has played over 200 first class games unlike saim who isn't even a seasoned domestic player.

Saim has had enough chances had a great opportunity this series to show something but failed so don't expect anything against Ireland or England.

That's why it's better to just go back to status quo with rizwan and Babar opening because we have a world cup.

After World cup the think tank can see what players need axing and which youngsters need to be given a go in the team.

But intl cricket is not where a batsmen learns to bat its not a school to learn you do that in domestics.

Pakistan can't afford for saim to come good just like we did with asif ali and khushdil shah opportunity after opportunity and never delivered after all the talk and fanfare. How many games did we give asif ali the fake sixer machine the fake jos butler hoping for him to give that butler performance never happened .and rightly discarded alongwith the whimpy performer khushdil who at one point I believe was even crying in the dressing room

 

[Mamoon]

He is very talented and should have a successful career but he needs some proper guidance and I hope Gary Kirsten can help him on this front.

Saim Ayub needs to stop being too cute. He needs to understand that his garbage no-look shot has no value and it has made him look stupid at the intentional level more often than not.

He needs to stick to playing regular shots because he is more than capable of being successful while keeping of simple.

I hope he is not dropped because he is the natural successor to Fakhar Zaman.

 

[Asad T]

Honesly, the 'no-look pull shot' is not named properly. He looks at the ball coming off the hit bat, his head just doesn't follow through. it's a normal pull shot, the lack of follow-through is the only difference

 

[RidiculousMan]

He is very talented and should have a successful career but he needs some proper guidance and I hope Gary Kirsten can help him on this front.

Saim Ayub needs to stop being too cute. He needs to understand that his garbage no-look shot has no value and it has made him look stupid at the intentional level more often than not.

He needs to stick to playing regular shots because he is more than capable of being successful while keeping of simple.

I hope he is not dropped because he is the natural successor to Fakhar Zaman.

I think half of the dismissals of his on leg side has been while playing that no look shot.

He needs to stop that until he can have complete control over it.

 

[emranabbas]

Zak Crawley has played over 200 first class games unlike saim who isn't even a seasoned domestic player.

Saim has had enough chances had a great opportunity this series to show something but failed so don't expect anything against Ireland or England.

That's why it's better to just go back to status quo with rizwan and Babar opening because we have a world cup.

After World cup the think tank can see what players need axing and which youngsters need to be given a go in the team.

But intl cricket is not where a batsmen learns to bat its not a school to learn you do that in domestics.

Pakistan can't afford for saim to come good just like we did with asif ali and khushdil shah opportunity after opportunity and never delivered after all the talk and fanfare. How many games did we give asif ali the fake sixer machine the fake jos butler hoping for him to give that butler performance never happened .and rightly discarded alongwith the whimpy performer khushdil who at one point I believe was even crying in the dressing room

No issue we can go back to rizwan-babar duo but I 100% guarantee you we are still not going to win the word cup with rizwan - babar opening
So its not really a solution

 

[mazkhan]

No issue we can go back to rizwan-babar duo but I 100% guarantee you we are still not going to win the word cup with rizwan - babar opening
So its not really a solution

And why should pakistan win the world cup when there are vastly superior sides , we are an average-good side at best its a ridiculous expectation on your part

Bar rizwan and Babar the rest of the team is average although shaheen and shadab blow hot and cold and can be superstar level one minute and rubbish the next .

We won the last 2017 champions trophy

2021 semi finalists in t20 world cup
2022 runners up in t20 world cup
Which is a better record in t20 world cups than the billionaire indian team and its ipl base

50 over world cup we have underachieved since 1999 when we had a team full of superstars and flopped in the final but even between then we reached a semi final and quarter final.

We reached the 2022 Asia cup final in t20.


So conclusion pakistan has been punching above its weight . In 50 overs we have been underachievers for a long time .

 

[Usman Chadda]

And why should pakistan win the world cup when there are vastly superior sides , we are an average-good side at best its a ridiculous expectation on your part

Bar rizwan and Babar the rest of the team is average although shaheen and shadab blow hot and cold and can be superstar level one minute and rubbish the next .

We won the last 2017 champions trophy

2021 semi finalists in t20 world cup
2022 runners up in t20 world cup
Which is a better record in t20 world cups than the billionaire indian team and its ipl base

50 over world cup we have underachieved since 1999 when we had a team full of superstars and flopped in the final but even between then we reached a semi final and quarter final.

We reached the 2022 Asia cup final in t20.


So conclusion pakistan has been punching above its weight . In 50 overs we have been underachievers for a long time .

The bowling has stood up. Whenever we haven't done well, the bowling has not been in top form.

Our bowlers were sensational in 2021 and 2022, despite the batsmen doing their best to mess it up. Shaheen deserves a mention for certain, as when in the zone he is nigh unplayable sometimes. That over to Finch and Marsh in the T20WC semifinal was breathtaking stuff.

The world of cricket has evolved to a stage where bowlers are an after-thought in the shorter formats of the game. And here we are, still behind our bowlers. That's one of the main reasons we have under-achieved for a very long time. No better example than the recently concluded World Cup, where our main bowlers lost form and we got smashed in pretty much every game.

 

[mazkhan]

Point taken but pakistan doesn't have gun batsmen

Our best batsmen is babar azam.

We have been trying various domestic performers and hyped up players and all have looked pretty ordinary.

Recent one is this usman khan hyped up as next big thing , big injustice by pcb , big performances in psl , sacrificed uae and now he has played intl cricket and we have witnessed he doesn't even know where his feet are .

But yes it's all babars fault , rizwan is doing jadoo and giving nazar , naqvi is corrupt noora , misbah destroyed pakistan cricket etc etc