Pakistan opener Saim Ayub was dismissed first ball against Oman when he went to play an across the line slog. He had crouched low to a full ball from Faisal Shah, and tried to slog it across the line and was caught plumb in front. The aggressive Ayub and Sahibzada Farhan are opening these days as Pakistan have sought to look beyond the pair of Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.
Misbah-ul-Haq, former Pakistan captain, wasn’t too impressed with Ayub’s shot selection.
“It’s a shot played on true pitches where you are 100%certain that the ball will come here and I can connect. This is a bit of a casual approach that he needs to correct. Intent is good, but with right shot selection is needed,” Misbah said on PTV Sports.
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“The shot he played, you can try on true good pitches with bounce in Australia, where you can play that shot. But where the ball can do something off the pitch – either slow or cut, where if you try to play across the line, and that too first ball, it’s going to be tough. Even if you connect with the ball, one can’t be sure whether you can time the ball properly or not. He has got out often, like that.
He has to be more careful with his shot selection depending on the conditions. He has to get close to the ball, loft with full bat face over covers, straighter and if there is width, cut and if it’s short, pull. But it’s the first ball, you don’t know about the pace off the pitch …”
In the past, Misbah had pointed out another flaw in Ayub’s technique. This dates back to last January during the time of Ayub’s debut. “A minor adjustment is necessary in Ayub’s technique concerning the fuller deliveries from both pacers and spinners, as his front leg tends to move across slightly, potentially causing issues. His dismissal hints at a similar concern,” Misbah added.
Misbah also spoke on Ayub’s opener Sahibzada Farhan. “Now, take Sahibzada Farhan, I feel he is also under pressure now. HE was going in the flow, but now there has been a few failures. Now is the time we shall get to know which brand of cricket we are going to play.
Farhan averages 19.01 from 21 T20 Internationals at a strike rate of 127.58. The 29 he made against Oman was his highest in the last five games, where he hasn’t crossed 20. Pakistan next play India on Sunday in Dubai.
