Pakistan Captain Backs Saim Ayub Ahead of Asia Cup Final Against India
Support for Saim Ayub
Dubai [UAE], September 27: Pakistan's captain, Salman Ali Agha, has expressed his belief in the potential of Saim Ayub, urging that the young batsman should be given a chance to represent the nation for the next decade. He remains optimistic about Ayub's performance in the upcoming Asia Cup final against India this Sunday.
Throughout the tournament, Saim has struggled significantly, failing to score in four out of six matches. In the two innings where he did manage to avoid a duck, he accumulated only 23 runs.
Despite calls from fans and former players for his removal from the final lineup, Salman has reassured that the team management will continue to support Ayub until a change becomes necessary.
“Saim is a player who can serve Pakistan for the next 10 years, and I am really hoping that he does. You have to back such individuals until you get to a situation where you have to change,” Salman stated during a press conference before the final.
While Saim's batting has been disappointing, he has excelled with the ball, taking eight wickets and ranking as one of the top wicket-takers in the tournament. Salman is confident that Ayub's all-around contributions will eventually translate into better batting performance in the crucial match against India.
“You have seen his bowling and fielding. He is contributing in every game. There is no game where he has not made a contribution. He could not perform like that in batting. And I am fully confident that he will play well in the final,” he added.
Salman himself has faced challenges in the T20 format, with discussions surrounding his performance and strike rate. Previous captains Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan were excluded from the team due to similar issues.
While acknowledging his own underwhelming performance, Salman defended the importance of adapting to the game situation over merely focusing on achieving a high strike rate. “My performance is not up to the mark as it should be. I have an idea and I am working on it. Strike rate is vital in T20, but at the end of the day, you have to see what the team and the situation demand at a particular time,” he explained.
India's lineup includes: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Axar Patel, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Sanju Samson, Harshit Rana, Rinku Singh.
Pakistan's squad features: Salman Ali Agha (c), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Waseem Jnr, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Afridi, Sufyan Moqim.