The left-handed opener has been horribly out of form in the tournament.
The Asia Cup is all set to experience an India vs Pakistan Final for the first time in its history. The Men in Blue have had a near perfect campaign till now. Apart from the heap of catches that they dropped, Suryakumar Yadav and his men have been clinical. On the other hand, Pakistan have reached the Final on the back of some roller-coaster performances. After being beaten by their arch-rivals in their first Super 4s game, they held their nerve brilliantly to win against both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
Both teams will have their plans in place for the big Final on September 28. However, one thing which the Men in Green would be pondering upon, is the form of Saim Ayub. The left-handed is highly regarded as the one to take Pakistan cricket forward. But in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, his bat has not been talking at all. Rather, he has made an appearance in the wickets column for the Shaheens.
In six fixtures till now, the 23-year-old has registered four ducks. He started the tournament off with three scores of zero on the trot. At a later stage, the management pushed him back at No.3, but to no avail. Ayub was sent packing for another duck against Bangladesh in their last Super 4s fixture. Ahead of an all-important Final, can Pakistan trust the youngster to turn it around with the bat?
A dip in form is usually looked at from the ‘form is temporary, class in permanent’ lens. But for the Men in Green, the question would be – for how long? Ayub has scored a dismal 23 runs from the six innings in the tournament so far. But Ayub seems to be falling in his own trap, which needs to change for him to be successful.
Pakistan’s campaign started against Oman, and they batted first. Ayub was dismissed in the opening moments of the clash, when he tried to slog a delivery for a maximum. However, the ball hit his pads, and the left-handed batter was caught in front of the wickets. In the second match against arch-rivals India, Ayub was caught at point.
In the match against UAE, the 23-year-old once again slashed hard at a short ball outside off, sending the ball straight into the hands of the fielder at third-man. Ayub was then demoted down the order in the Super 4s Clash against India. That game against India was like a drop of water in the desert. He crawled his way to 21. He was dismissed for two runs against Sri Lanka, and had to walk back for a duck against Bangladesh too.
Sometimes, T20s can create an illusion in the mind of a batter. Out of the six dismissals till now, he went for an aggressive shot on five occasions. With most dismissals well inside the powerplay, it suggests that the Pakistani opener is somewhat rushing into the act. All he needs is a bit of time to settle his nerves.
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Former Pakistani skipper Waqar Younis had some strong words in store for the young opener, who is out of form. Younis has suggested the Pakistani setup to drop Ayub for the India vs Pakistan Final, which is to be played on September 28. He stated that there isn’t any doubt about the quality of the player, but the fact that he is simply out of form. And hence, it would be important for the Men in Green to bench him for the ultimate showdown.
Though his form with the bat has been pretty poor, the youngster has contributed heavily with the ball in hand. In six matches, Ayub has picked up as many as eight wickets, and has given important breakthroughs for the team. However, Younis stated the lack of sense in playing him for his bowling. Pakistan can look at wider prospects and bring in an attacking batter in place of Ayub.
“It’s not that he is not talented; he is very talented. I think he is the future of Pakistan cricket. But sometimes when things are not going right for you, you just keep going in the shell, keep going down and down, and that’s what is happening here with him”, mentioned the former skipper.
Furthermore, the former speedster stated the importance of looking after the young prospects in the team by not playing them in a few games when they are out of form. Ayub needs to dig deeper into his game, and give himself some time in the middle. This is not a case of lack of talent, or the inability to score runs. It is just about Ayub rushing into his shots at a premature stage.
“Pakistan kept on playing him, just purely because he can bowl. You don’t need to worry about his bowling. Pakistan needs to worry about his batting, if he is going to give us runs or not. At the moment, it’s not happening”, concluded Younis.
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