Follow UsEver since his breakthrough in franchise cricket two years back, Saim Ayub has been regarded as one of the finest batting talents in Pakistan, and he’s also played a fair few knocks at the highest level to justify the hype.
The clash against India today was Ayub’s first against the Men in Green’s arch rivals, so, naturally, a lot was expected from the bat of the 23-year-old left-hander, even though he had registered a golden duck against Oman.
However, the hype turned into horror in no time in Dubai as Ayub lasted all of one ball, slashing Hardik Pandya straight into the hands of Jasprit Bumrah at point. He mistimed a short and wide delivery that was there to be put away, and, just like that, the youngster’s innings came to an abrupt end.
The golden duck was Ayub’s fourth in T20Is, and that meant he set an unwanted record. Indeed, Ayub has now registered more golden ducks than any other Pakistan in T20I history. And it’s taken him just 41 innings to set this unwanted record.
Most golden ducks for a Pakistan opener in T20Is
4 - Saim Ayub
3 - Babar Azam
2 - Fakhar Zaman
2 - Kamran Akmal
2 - Mohammad Hafeez
Ayub is now in the midst of a horror run in T20Is. He’s registered three golden ducks in his last five innings, and his scores during this period read 0, 0, 17, 11, 0. After 41 innings, the youngster now averages just 20.92 in T20Is, having been dismissed for single-digits a whopping 18 times.
Even if Pakistan go on to lose this game, they will be hoping that the youngster picks up form in the Super 4 stage of the competition. With both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan dropped, it’s clear that head coach Mike Hesson sees Ayub as the first-choice opener for the side in next year’s T20 World Cup.