Why Time Has Come For Pakistan To Drop Saim Ayub Ahead Of Asia Cup Match Vs The UAE

Why Pakistan should drop Ayub [Source: AFP Photo]

Pakistan have a tough task ahead as they will collide against the UAE in their last group stage match of the Asia Cup 2025. The Men in Green defeated Oman in a one-sided battle and suffered a crushing loss at the hands of India on Sunday, and now to qualify for Super 4, they need to beat the UAE.

Pakistan has plenty of problems in its bag, but none bigger than the Saim Ayub issue. The left-handed batter, who was hailed as the next Babar Azam by Fakhar Zaman has been a flop show, and perhaps time has come for the team management to take a harsh call on him.

Here are 3 major reasons as to why Pakistan should drop Saim Ayub from their next Asia Cup match vs the UAE.

1) Poor form in the ongoing Asia Cup

Two matches, two ducks define Saim Ayub’s Asia Cup journey. The batter came into the tournament on the back of a decent run in T20Is, but Ayub failed to deliver the goods in the matches vs Oman, and India, as pressure mounted on Pakistan's middle-order.

He has looked like a pale shadow of his former self, and the batter has looked underconfident as the opposition bowlers have found ways to expose his weaknesses. Pakistan has better openers in their arsenal, and in a do-or-die game against the UAE, they should think out of the box.

2) Ayub blocking Fakhar Zaman's opening path

With Ayub opening alongside Sahibzada Farhan, there is no room for Fakhar Zaman at the top, and hence, the aggressive southpaw has been demoted to number 3, 4 in the pecking order. This has ruined his game plan as the southpaw is Pakistan’s best opening batter by a country mile.

(Fakhar Zaman stats in T20Is)

• As of late, Fakhar has been unimpressive, and the blame should be given to PCB for demoting him from his usual opening spot. He has the T20I numbers to deliver, and with Ayub not doing well, Fakhar should open the innings.

3) Saim's average T20I numbers tell the story

A player has been given 43 T20I matches to perform, and yet, he is unable to win matches for his team. Saim Ayub has played enough T20I games to adjust to the format, and yet, he hasn’t delivered the goods for his team.

(Saim Ayub in T20Is)

• The numbers tell the entire story: an average of 20, with just 816 runs in 43 T20I matches. Ayub has just 4 fifty-plus scores in T20Is, and the batter is yet to play crucial knocks under pressure. Pakistan have Fakhar Zaman, and Mohammad Haris as fellow openers, and one of them could be promoted in place of Ayub.

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