Saim Ayub dropped from Pakistan squad mid-series, chooses domestic cricket himself to regain form
Pakistan are playing a tri-nation series at home against England and Sri Lanka. With one match remaining, the hosts have reached the final with three straight wins. But despite the team’s strong run, batting all-rounder Saim Ayub has been dropped from the squad in the middle of the series.
Saim’s recent one-day form lies behind the decision. He last scored an ODI half-century in November last year, against South Africa. In the five ODIs he has played in the format since then, he has scored only 60 runs in total, at an average of 12.
In the three matches of the ongoing tri-series as well, Saim failed to reach double figures — his innings were 7, 8 and 6.
Yet only the day before the England match in the tri-series, Pakistan captain Shaheen Shah Afridi had ruled out the possibility of dropping Saim from the team.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), however, said that in a discussion with head coach Mike Hesson, Saim admitted he has been struggling in this format in recent times. He himself expressed the wish to return to domestic cricket to regain his batting form and confidence.
In a statement, the PCB said the national selection committee has included Sahibzada Farhan in the squad for the remainder of the tri-series in place of Saim. Farhan, brought in as the replacement, is Pakistan’s T20 captain and has played six ODIs so far.
The PCB statement added that after the discussion with the head coach, Saim expressed his desire to return to domestic cricket to work on his batting form and regain confidence. Respecting that decision and valuing his honest assessment of his current form, the team management and the national selection committee jointly decided to accept his request.
After Saim’s replacement was included, Pakistan’s tri-series squad stands as: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Fahim Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Rajaullah, Saad Baig (wicketkeeper), Sahibzada Farhan and Maaz Sadaqat.
