Saim Ayub is as good as Babar Azam: Shadab Khan

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Pakistan's skipper for the Afghanistan T20I series, Shadab Khan, expressed his excitement about playing alongside the highly rated youngster, Saim Ayub, during the upcoming matches. 

In a recent PCB podcast, Shadab praised Saim's exceptional talent and stylish batting, comparing him to Babar and Abdullah Shafique.

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"I think Saim is an exceptional talent. After a very long time, we have got a player like him who we can say is as stylish and good as Babar and Abdullah," said Shadab. 

"The way he [Saim] plays, he is a player of Babar's category. Players like them are too good to watch even when they score runs against your team. They are too stylish batters," he added. 

The 20-year-old's consistent and stylish performances in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) season eight, earned him a call-up to the national team for the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan. 

The left-handed batter had opened the innings alongside skipper Babar for Peshawar Zalmi, scoring 341 runs in 12 matches.

In the absence of main players like Babar, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Mohammad Rizwan, and Fakhar Zaman, Shadab will lead the squad in the Afghanistan series as the vice-captain in the white-ball format. 

The team includes promising young players like Saim Ayub, Azam Khan, Ihsanullah, and Zaman Khan, who performed well in the PSL eight.

T20I Squad against Afghanistan

Shadab Khan (c), Abdullah Shafique, Azam Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Iftikhar Ahmed, Ihsanullah, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood, Tayyab Tahir, Zaman Khan

Reserved players: Abrar Ahmed, Haseebullah, Usama Mir

Schedule

Mar 24 - First T20I - Sharjah

Mar 26 - Second T20I - Sharjah

Mar 27 - Third T20I - Sharjah