The 23-year-old Pakistan National Cricket Team opening batsman, Saim Ayub, embarrassed himself and his entire side with a poor act in the Asia Cup 2025.
Saim Ayub took a review after a plumb first-ball lbw in the first match of the Pakistan National Cricket Team in the Asia Cup 2025 against the Oman National Cricket Team.
Saim Ayub falls for a duck
The Peshawar Zalmi batsman Ayub has established himself as an all-format player for the Pakistan National Cricket Team in a short span of time.
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Looking at the higher ceiling and his talent, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee and the team management have provided Ayub with great backing.
However, the young batter has failed to repay the faith of selectors and the team management, and he has not been consistent in any format of the game.
In the recently concluded Tri-series involving Pakistan, Afghanistan, and the UAE, Saim Ayub struggled to play big knocks consistently, with the batter smashing just one half-century against the United Arab Emirates.
The Mike Hesson-led Pakistan coaching staff would have expected Saim Ayub to regain form and perform well in the Asia Cup 2025, but the batsman has gotten off to a disastrous start.
In Pakistan’s Asia Cup 2025 opening match against Oman at the Dubai International Stadium on Friday, September 12, Saim Ayub got out in the first over itself.
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bat first in the match. Saim Ayub got the strike on the second ball, and he got out on the same delivery, which was bowled by Shah Faisal.
Pacer Shah Faisal bowled a full and straight delivery to Saim Ayub, and the batsman crouched low and looked to slog across the line.
However, he missed it completely and was struck on the back pad. The on-field umpire almost instantly raised his finger as he saw that there was no chance that the ball would miss the stumps.
However, Ayub saw that as an opportunity to embarrass himself and his team, and after a small chat with Sahibzada Farhan, he decided to burn a review.
UltraEdge showed that there was no bat involved, and the ball-tracking showed that the ball would’ve hit the lower part of the middle-stump.
The young opener walked back to the hut after bagging a duck and looked in a disappointing mood after his failure in Pakistan’s Asia Cup opener.
Watch – Ayub burns review after plumb first-ball lbw
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Speaking ahead of the start of the play, the pitch report was provided by Bazid Khan as he said:
“The focus is back on Dubai, it is the same pitch where India played the UAE. Faster bowlers will get assistance early on with movement off the pitch, and then they can rely on the bounce.
“This is a chasing ground and Pakistan would want to replicate the performance India made a couple of days ago. Don’t forget, we will be back on this ground a couple of days later for this big game between India and Pakistan on Sunday.”
Pakistan and Oman Playing XIs for Asia Cup 2025 clash
Oman (Playing XI): Jatinder Singh(c), Aamir Kaleem, Hammad Mirza, Vinayak Shukla(w), Shah Faisal, Hassnain Shah, Mohammad Nadeem, Zikria Islam, Sufyan Mehmood, Shakeel Ahmed, Samay Shrivastava
Pakistan (Playing XI): Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Mohammad Haris(w), Fakhar Zaman, Salman Agha(c), Hasan Nawaz, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Abrar Ahmed
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