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Pakistan’s left-handed batter Saim Ayub is rising quickly through the ranks, and he is one of the most exciting batters to watch when he gets going. The 23-year-old has not been that consistent, for which he has coped with a bit of criticism; however, one cannot deny that he has become a vital cog of the batting lineup ever since Mike Hesson took over as the white-ball coach. Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan are out of the T20I playing XI, and Hesson’s impact on the team has finally started to bear fruit as the team has started to play slam-bang cricket.
However, the real test of this newfound approach will be against India when the arch-rivals face each other in the Group A encounter of the Asia Cup on Sunday at the Dubai International Stadium.
Ahead of the high-profile encounter, a Pakistani journalist stumped Ayub during the pre-match press conference by asking him point-blank whether he thinks his team would be able to play aggressive cricket against a quality team like India, which has bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakaravarthy.
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Ayub was hesitant at first; however, he was quick to shut down the journalist, saying his team has the self-belief and they can play aggressively against any team in the world.
“We are just trying to play fearless cricket against every team,” Ayub said in the pre-match press conference.
‘It’s a big match’
In Pakistan’s last six T20I matches, the left-hander has gone past the 50-run mark just once, scoring 69 against the UAE in the Tri-Nation Series. However, he has done the job with the ball in hand, giving quality overs in the powerplay.
The youngster is well aware of the enormity of the contest against India; however, he said that his team is focused on winning the Asia Cup rather than thinking about just the game against the neighbours.
“It is a big match, if you look at the fans’ point of view. But as a team, we don’t view it like that. We take it as any other game. We as players just want to improve day by day. As a team, we believe in other players as well. It is a squad of 15, we don’t want only 1-2 players to keep performing. We want to put together a team effort,” said Ayub.
“In the last 3-4 months, the management has given a message to learn from the past and move ahead. We are focusing on not thinking about the past and looking at the future. It is not about what happened earlier. We are just focused on preparation and execution. We just want to win the tournament. We are not looking forward to just the India versus Pakistan contest,” he added.
The Pakistan opening batter also said that facing a bowler like Jasprit Bumrah would be challenging, and he is ready for the contest.
“It would be challenging. Every bowler is a challenge. But it is all about coming out on top for the team and making them win,” said Ayub.
