A golden duck followed a 10-ball duck as Saim Ayub ‘s return to the Pakistan Test team backfired dramatically. The result was him getting a pair over the two innings, failing to even open his account in the 11 balls he faced. The young opening batter was brought to the team ahead of the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston. On both occasions, it was England pacer Ollie Robinson who showed him the way to the dressing room. Having flown in straight from the Caribbean Premier League (a T20 league in the West Indies), Ayub’s unpreparedness was duly exposed, and former England captain Nasser Hussain feels the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee is to be blamed for this stunt.
Hussain Critiques Selection of Ayub in Pakistan’s Lineup
On Day 2 of the match, Pakistan’s performance in their second innings saw them lose 2 wickets for 52 runs by stumps. Analyst Nasser Hussain expressed his concerns regarding the team’s selection, specifically criticizing the inclusion of batter Aamer Ayub.
Hussain stated, “The truth is he shouldn’t be here. He came from the CPL and hasn’t played first-class cricket in some time,” during a post-match discussion on Sky Sports. His comments reflect a broader concern about the team’s composition and readiness for the ongoing series.
“I don’t know who thinks it’s the right thing to fly someone over from foreign conditions, playing a completely different format, and think they’re going to be fine in these conditions against a Dukes ball, against Ollie Robinson and England’s bowling attack,” Hussain asserted, explaining why Ayub was destined to fail in these conditions against a team of the calibre of England. Batting at the top of the order in England is the toughest task, and you just feel you can fly someone in from some part of the world and go, Good luck,” he said. “It is just a sort of disrespect and disregard for Test match cricket. Test match cricket, as any cricketer will tell you, is the toughest format. Hussain also highlighted what the results were when India once did the same, flying in Virender Sehwag into the squad without adequate match practice in English conditions. The result was him getting a pair. To expect Ayub to produce better results, hence, shows Pakistan’s amateur approach. “Virender Sehwag tried it on this ground, if you remember… they flew him in. Virender Sehwag got a pair, and that’s Virender Sehwag, who’s a better, more experienced player than Saim,” highlighted Hussain.
