NZ Vs PAK 1st T20I: Pakistan's 'Rishabh Pant' Saim Ayub Hits 3 Sixes, 2 Fours In Short Stay To Kickstart T20I Career In Style; Watch

On T20I debut, Saim Ayub displayed a range of shots, playing a no-look shot too against pace to draw the attention of the fans towards him.

Saim Ayub. (Image: X)

Saim Ayub is just 21 but he has abundance of batting talent. He displayed that in the domestic cricket for Pakistan and was deservingly called up in the Test and T20I side for the tours of Australia and New Zealand. Ayub could not do much on his Test debut against Aussies. But in the T20I match vs New Zealand, the fiery youngster from Karachi showed glimpses of brilliance.

Ayub did get a second life as he was dropped by Willimason in just the first over. But he made most of it to make 27 runs off just 8 balls to give a positive start to Pakistan innings.

Watch Ayub's sweet but short innings below:

Saim ayub 5 boundaries in 8 balls
3 sixes 2 fours#BabarAzam_ #PAKvsNZ #PakistanCricketTeam #ShaheenAfridi #AsianCup2023 pic.twitter.com/5K5l4wN81Y — Zayed Khan (@zayedkhan08) January 12, 2024

Ayub's innings however was cut short by a brilliant fielding display by Adam Milne. Fielding off his own bowling, Milne fired at the non-striker's stumps as Ayub was stuck in the middle of the pitch after a mixup with Rizwan. The ball hit the sticks and Ayub had to take a long walk back.

Know more about Saim Ayub below

Saim Ayub is a breath of fresh air for Pakistan cricket. He is young, he is attacking and he is fearless. Ayub is a sort of a batter any team would want in their playing 11. He is a left-handed Pakistan batter, known for his aggressive style of play. Ayub was born in Karachi in 2002 and wanted to become cricketer just like his father Ayub Ahmed and uncle Mohammad Javed. They were cricketers at club level. The cricket bug bit him and before he knew, his training started.

Like many Pakistani cricketers, Saim too started his cricket journey with a tape-ball. He played for Gulistan-e-Johar, a neighbourhood in Karachi, and later moved on to play the sport professionally.

Ayub's List-A debut came for Sindh in the 2021-22 Pakistan Cup. The same year he also played his maiden first-class match in the 2022-23 Quaid-e-Azam trophy.

In 2021, he made his debut in the Pakistan Super League (PSL), representing the Quetta Gladiators. Unfortunately, his performance in that season was not up to par, leading to the franchise excluding him from the squad for the following year. However, he experienced a breakthrough in 2023 when he joined Peshawar Zalmi. Displaying remarkable form, he accumulated 341 runs in 12 matches with an impressive strike-rate of 165.53. This outstanding performance positioned him.

Ayub has a range of shots and likes to play 360 degree at the crease and because he is also a left-handed batter, he gets compared with India's wicketkeeper and batter Rishabh Pant often on social media.