Pakistan’s losing streak in ODIs might have to do with Saim Ayub’s injury and subsequent absence. His return may help revive their performance.
Pakistan have now lost six ODIs in a row. The final of the tri-series at home. Two in the Champions Trophy. And three in the den of New Zealand, their newfound nemesis, against whom they have now lost six consecutive ODIs across a two-month span.
Streaks like these are expected to draw criticism, but the team can always point at what they did before that. Since the West Indies in 1992/93, they became the first side to sweep South Africa 3-0 in South Africa. That was preceded by a 2-1 win in Zimbabwe, but that was probably expected. Before that, there was a 2-1 triumph in Australia, the first time they won a series in that country since 2002.
All this had happened across November and December 2024. The drop began almost abruptly. What changed?
Pakistan had used 17 cricketers across their three series wins. That count drops to 14 if one counts only the Australia and South Africa series. Only one of these 14 did not play a single game during their horror run in 2025.
Saim Ayub.
Looking back
Nine ODIs, 515 runs at 64.37, strike rate 106. Take Zimbabwe out, and the numbers read 60 and 97. While impressive – an understatement, perhaps – these can still be disregarded as a small sample.
More than the career numbers, however, it is important to look at the matches. He failed on debut, but followed that with 82 in 71 balls and 42 in 52. While it is true that Pakistan were chasing 164 and 141 in these games, it is also true that he had the most runs from either side, while that 82 was one of two fifties in the entire series. He did play a major act in a triumph that had his compatriot fast bowlers in the leading roles.
The 62-ball 113 not out at Bulawayo was the quickest hundred by a Pakistani in an ODI since Shahid Afridi. Yet, it turned out to be a warm-up before the major act.
He provided a glimpse in a T20I at Durban, where he hit seven fours in a 15-ball 31. This must have impressed the team management, for they demoted Babar Azam to accommodate Ayub at the top. They had done that before, but Ayub finally repaid their faith with a 57-ball 98 not out.
Read: Nasser Hussain picks Saim Ayub in the next Fab Four discussion
Then came the ODIs. He got a 25, but on either side of that was a hundred. At Paarl, Pakistan collapsed to 60-4, but Ayub (109 in 119 balls) did not depart until he had brought the target to 39. Then, at Johannesburg, he smashed a 94-ball 101 to take Pakistan to 308-9 in 47 overs.
Have first-timers burst into the scene to top score in three consecutive series, two of them in historical wins on difficult tours? Saim Ayub brought wins to Pakistan in a year they lost a game to the USA, were eliminated in the first round of the T20 World Cup, and were clean swept in a home Test series to Bangladesh.
What does Ayub do differently?
It is important to understand what marked Ayub out during his brief career. He was targeting the boundary more often than his compatriots did in the same matches. Once the injury ruled him out, there was no one to pick up that mantle.
Not unsurprisingly, Pakistanis do not rely a lot on running between the wickets. Their strike rate off non-boundary balls over this period has been in the high forties, roughly around the global mark. They are not spectacular runners, but they are not behind either.
Ayub is no different... until one realises how often he founds the boundary or clears them. He hits a boundary every 6.5 balls (almost once an over). For a 50-ball innings, that is 7.7 boundary hits. Pakistan’s 1-7, on the other hand, that number drops to below five every 50 balls.
Of the eight teams that played in the Champions Trophy, Pakistan’s 2025 run rate of 5.55 is the second-worst. The team below them is Bangladesh, who have played only two ODIs this year. During his nine-match career, Ayub propelled them to 5.67 – the best among the same eight teams.
This is not to say that Saim Ayub’s return will change things magically. But it will at least improve the frequency of boundaries and, as a result, Pakistan’s scoring rate.
As for T20Is, the sparks of that had been lit in the South Africa series. If his form continues, he should be a fit in this new-mantra Pakistan batting unit. This is a team management that backs high-risk T20I batting through low scores.
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