T20 Post Mortem - Saim Ayub
Saim Ayub was made out to be a generational talent at the beginning of his career, able to hit stunning shots and win matches, the PCB and Pakistan fans alike believed they had stumbled upon a gem.
His international career has been plagued by a crippling lack of situational awareness, where he has been a walking wicket towards the later end of his career.
However 3 years on from this man's debut, and we are yet to reap the rewards of our investment in him as a player. Where did it all go wrong?
Early life -
Born on 24th May 2002 Saim grew up in a cricket oriented household learning the art of the game by playing tape-ball cricket with his father and brothers in Karachi.
2018 -
His talent was immediately recognised upon joining the PIA cricket academy leading him to represent Pakistan Under-16's during an impressive 2018 tour of Australia where he won Player Of The Series.
His dream of playing the ICC-Under 19 world cup was shattered after a knee injury sidelined him for 7 months, causing a major road block in his rise to greatness.
2021 -
Saim made a quiet and rather unimpressive PSL debut as an 18 for the Quetta Qladiators in 2021. Overwhelmed by world class bowling after coming straight from youth cricket, he struggled and was dropped and un-retained for the 2022 season.
2022 -
Instead of backing down, he went straight back to the domestic circuit. An explosive National T20 Cup season in which he finished as the second highest run scorer (416 runs) and forced selectors to notice him again.
He also made his List A (March) and First Class (September) debut for Sindh in 2022
2023 -
Under the guidance of Babar Azam he flourished while opening for Peshawar Zalmi exploding back onto the scene scoring 341 runs in 12 matches at an impressive strike rate of 166 and introducing the world to his signature "no look shot"
24th March 2023 - T20I Debut
During an experimental phase of Pakistan cricket, a young squad is called up to play a 3 match T20I series against Afghanistan, breaking the Rizbar opening partnership we were used to.
Consistency is immediately an evident issue for Saim here's a look at his stats in his debut series:
First T20I - 17 (15) SR - 113
Second T20I - 0 (2) SR - N/A
Third T20I - 49 (40) - SR - 122
Saim ended his debut series with an average performance with 66 runs of 57 deliveries and an average of 22 in a humiliating series.
April 2023 - New Zealand T20I Series
Saim Ayub's first T20I series on home soil ended as unimpressive to say the least. Overshadowed by major milestones such as Babar's second T20I ton. Here's a look at Saim's performance across that series.
First T20I - 47 (28) - SR 168
Second T20I - 0 (3)
Third T20I - 10 (10) - SR 100
Fourth T20I - No Result
Fifth T20I - 0 (2)
Saim ended the series with 57 runs off 42 deliveries at an average of 14 for the series.
2024 -
3rd January 2024 - Test Debut
Handed a test debut against Australia in Australia was brutal for 21 year old Saim Ayub, still navigating his way through international cricket.
His first innings on debut couldn't have gone any worse getting out on 0 (2)
He showed some resilience in the second innings with 33 (51) however Pakistan lost the match by 8 wickets, landing him severe criticism on his vulnerability against high-pace swing.
2024 T20 WC -
His first real test was the 2024 T20 World Cup, in difficult batting conditions, Saim wasn't given a chance until Pakistan's match against Canada when they were already eliminated.
v Canada 11th June 2024
He opened with Rizwan on his World Cup debut to score a rather forgettable 6 off 12
v Ireland 16th June 2024
He again opened with Rizwan against Ireland to score an ordinary 17 off 17 in a low scoring thriller.
Summary -
In total across his 2 matches he scored 23 off 29 with an average of 11.5
4th November 2024 - ODI Debut
Saim was given his next big assignment with his ODI debut, yet again against Australia in Australia.
He finished his very first ODI game 1 (5), cleaned up by Mitchell Starc only in the third over.
He did however famously bounce back in the next match to score a very classy 82 runs.
Injury -
On the opening day of the Second Test against South Africa in January of 2025, Saim twisted and fractured his ankle in the field.
He was subsequently side-lined and unfortunately missed Pakistan's embarrassing attempt at a title defence of the Champions Trophy in 2025 while in red hot form.
This is often viewed by many as the turning point in his career, never truly reaching the touch he was in prior to this catastrophic injury.
August 2025 - Afg + UAE Tri-Series
v Afg - 14 (16)
v UAE - 69 (38)
v Afg - 0 (1)
v UAE - 11 (10)
v Afg - 17 (19)
Summary -
Saim's only real performance was against the UAE, in ever other match he scored less than 20 runs.
2025 Asia Cup -
By September 2025, Saim had arguably been given enough time to mature and ease into international cricket, being persisted with since late 2023. Here's a rundown of his scores throughout the tournament:
v Oman - 0 (1)
v India - 0 (1)
v UAE - 0 (2)
v India - 21 (17)
v SL - 2 (3)
v Bang - 0 (3)
v India - 14 (11)
Saim was given chance after chance in this tournament, accumulating a grand total of 4 ducks in the tournament having the most ducks in a single Asia Cup.
Summary -
In total he scored just 37 off 38 with an embarrassing average of 5. His lifeline in this tournament and throughout his T20I career was and has been his spin bowling.
2026 -
January 2025 - Sri Lanka T20I Series
With the world cup looming just a few weeks away, Pakistan wanted to get in a few matches against hybrid hosts Sri Lanka to get a feel for the conditions and to avoid a repeat of the humiliating group-stage exits of the past 3 ICC tournaments. Here's a look at Saim's stats over this 3 match series.
First T20I - 24 (18)
Second T20I - Abandoned
Third T20I - 6 (5)
2026 T20 WC -
Saim could at this stage be considered somewhat a senior, having represented Pakistan for 3 years until this point and being a first-choice pick of every white ball XI. This would be a chance for him to redeem himself after the disappointments of the 2025 Asia Cup which left a bitter taste in many fan's mouths.
v Ned - 24 (13)
v USA - 19 (17)
v Ind - 6 (2)
v Nam - 14 (12)
v Eng - 7 (7)
Looking at his tournament stats one can't help but notice the inconsistency and lack of impact he's had from the top. The entire reason we've kept him in our side for 3 years.
PSL XI -
Saim struggled immensely for runs in the most recent edition of the PSL. A league in which he has excelled for the last few years, emphasising his sharp decline.
He was sold to the new franchise for a huge 12.6 crore which made him the most expensive domestic player in the history of the PSL. A price the Hyderabad owners would soon regret paying...
v LQ - 17 (13)
v QG - 8 (4)
v MS - 27 (20)
v PZ - 14 (15)
v KK - 6 (7)
v IU - 35 (26)
v RP - 15 (11)
v MS - 5 (10)
v IU - 12 (12)
v RP - 12 (6)
v MS - 15 (15)
v IU - 38 (27)
v PZ - 54 (50) - Final
These stats clearly show that he is NOT international material at all if he is struggling against retired bowlers like Mohammad Amir and Peter Siddle.
I am not saying he should be scoring centuries every game but being outperformed by a genuine test batsman like Marnus Labuschangne should be a concern, especially for a so-called "generational talent" like Saim.
October - Asian Games 2026 - Nail in the coffin
Fast forward to the Asian Games and Pakistan send a young squad with fresh faces. Hidden among those fresh faces is Saim Ayub who has miraculously been selected for this tournament and given a final chance to redeem himself.
v Ban - 21 (12)
v Ind - 29 (22) + 47 runs in 4 overs
Sure he played a brisk knock against Bangladesh with good bowling figures but yet again as soon as it matters, he fails on the big stage. A horrible knock, repeatedly placing the pressure on Hasan Nawaz due to slow batting, causing the already high required run rate to climb even higher.
The #1 all-rounder in the world yet conceded 47 runs in 4 overs, I am well aware that no one had a sub 8 economy that day from Pakistan but really?
And on top of that dropping 2 in the field off consecutive deliveries. One of them was more difficult than the other but they were both still chances gone begging.
And on top of that, doing ridiculous gestures to a 15 year old who probably has more talent than Saim himself has to be the most below-the-belt and embarrassing action I've seen in recent times. You do that kind of badmashi when you're winning convincingly.
Overall Stats in T20I's
In his now 69 matches donning the Pakistan jersey, he has batted in 63 of them scoring 1348 runs at a disappointing average of 21 and strike rate of 136. These stats certainly don't reflect someone labelled a "generational talent" more so a "generational failure"
If we look at the stats of another quick-scoring, powerplay exploiting, left handed opener like Abhishek Sharma, you see the stats of a genuine talent with a strike rate of 194, scoring 1865 runs in 60 innings with an average of 32.
Next Steps -
We need to be clear that Pakistan does not need Saim Ayub's spin. We need his batting! A premium, top tier side does not waste an opening batting position on a player with a dismal batting average of 21 just because they can chip in a few overs with the ball.
Sure his bowling is useful in certain situations, however in other situations we have a nakaam bowler and batter and yesterday even a nakaam fielder!
We should have a specialized bowling all-rounder who can handle the pressure of both batting and bowling without wetting the bed. I'm sure Arafat Minhas is this player.
He might've tricked the ICC computers into giving him the #1 All-Rounder stat but an opening batsman's currency is runs not wickets.
Therefore the only logical step is to completely remove Ayub from the National Squad. He should be sent back to domestic with a clear ultimatum: put the "no look shot" in the drawer and focus on your batting. Spend a year or two in the Quaid-E-Azam trophy, grinding out centuries away from the spotlight and learn how to build an innings and value your wicket.
He needs to strip away this "model" "superstar" persona he has and completely rebuild his batting away from the reels.
As of now we have an overhyped bowling all-rounder cosplaying as a batter with the most ducks in Pakistan's T20I history!
