Young Pakistani opening batter Saim Ayub has been the talk of the town since making his Test debut against Australia earlier this month. The 21-year-old replaced Imam-ul-Haq in the third Test in Sydney, where he faced both highs and lows in his debut match.
Saim Ayub bagged a duck in the first innings but showcased glimpses of his potential in the second innings. He played a promising innings of 33 runs from 53 balls with the help of three boundaries and one six before Nathan Lyon ended his entertaining knock.
In the subsequent T20I series, he was slated to open the innings with Mohammad Rizwan, slipping Babar Azam to one-down position.
Saim Ayub gave Pakistan a flying start in the first T20I, while chasing as he played a blistering 27-run knock in only eight balls.
Saim Ayub thrilling innings 🔥 #PAKvsNZ pic.twitter.com/64uTN65Z5B
— zohaib🦅 (@roomi674) January 12, 2024
His innings was laced with two boundaries and three sixes before he got run out. His brief yet entertaining knock came at an astonishing strike rate of 337.5.
However, he registered scores of 1 and 10 in next two games, followed by one run in today’s third T20I match. He played six balls and managed only one run before Matt Henry sent him packing.
Saim Ayub fails again 💔
Reason? #NZvsPAK pic.twitter.com/GpMNmarBB1— Faheem Siddiqi (@engr_siddiqi) January 19, 2024
Cricket fans on social media have now started questioning the young batter’s potential which he failed to show after two good innings.
Saim Ayub disappoints yet again. Rizwan and Babar batting together again in the second over of the innings.
— Wajahat Kazmi (@KazmiWajahat) January 19, 2024
Saim Ayub has been a dissapointment until now,? Why is he not playing like he does in leagues? Is International Cricket a different recipe or is he overrated? #PAKvsNZ || #NZvPAKpic.twitter.com/Bo8zsdqYG6
— Haris Arshad (@harris00071) January 19, 2024
Overrated Saim Ayub vs New Zealand
27 (8)
1 (3)
10 (13)
1 (6)39 runs at 9.75 with 130 SR#PAKvNZ #saimayub pic.twitter.com/Nx35opCSD2
— Sultan Khan (@MainHoonSultan7) January 19, 2024
Saim Ayub has been disappointing in this series, was expecting much more from him ☹️ #NZvsPAK
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) January 19, 2024
I always said he's overrated 🙂#SaimAyub gone for 1 #NZvPAK pic.twitter.com/XFhJlmeiQo
— Alisha Imran (@Alishaimran111) January 19, 2024
Meanwhile, some fans have defended Saim Ayub and believes he should not be judged on the basis of few innings only.
Now influencer on social media starts criticizing and labeling Saim. That's shows how less educated they are in the game of sports.
Jitna waqt Twitter ko dete hain utna player development ki study ko dete to shayad baat kr skte.#PAKvNZ #SaimAyub pic.twitter.com/Va7TcrBo3U
— Ahmer Najeeb Satti (@AhmerNajeeb) January 19, 2024
Saim Ayub will be dropped very soon. They are going to use this series as a tool to drop him and replace him with Haseebullah who will flop too and then RizBar will come back as openers.
— yang goi (@GongR1ght) January 19, 2024
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