Pakistan’s opening partnership is their most pressing selection question to answer during their T20 World Cup warm-up series against England. Aayush Majumdar analyses whether Saim Ayub should be persisted with at the top of the order, or whether the tried and tested Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan partnership should be reinstated.
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Why fix something that isn’t broken? This concern from a section of Pakistan faithful has gathered pace ever since the record-breaking Babar Azam-Mohammad Rizwan T20I opening partnership was broken up earlier this year. In both of Pakistan’s last T20I series, 21-year-old Saim Ayub has been the only constant at the top of the order, with Rizwan partnering him in their latest series against Ireland. However, despite the promise of his eye-catching knocks in the PSL, their investment in Ayub has yet to pay dividends.
As they kick start their warm-up series for the T20 World Cup against reigning champions England, many eyes will be on Ayub as Pakistan aim to finalise their lineup for the tournament.
Who is Saim Ayub?
Ayub broke onto the scene in the 2021 Pakistan Super League (PSL), playing for Quetta Gladiators. He failed to make an impact in his debut season, scoring 114 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of 108.57. Ayub, then only 19, did not feature in the following season. However, a breakthrough performance in Pakistan’s domestic T20 tournament that year set the tone for what came next. He ended the tournament as the second-highest run-getter, with the second-best strike rate, and hit the most sixes.
The left-handed batter then continued his good run in the 2023 PSL, during which he scored 341 runs with five 50+ scores and earned his maiden T20I call-up, making his debut days after the PSL concluded. He led the scoring charts in the 2023 Pakistan Cup as well. While he made a duck in his second T20I appearance for Pakistan, he made 49 off 40 balls in his following innings, with an eye-catching 28-ball 47 coming in the next series against New Zealand. Since then, however, nine of his 15 T20I innings have ended for scores of 10 or less.
Following a difficult international run, Ayub’s PSL success continued in its most recent season. He finished as the fifth-highest run scorer of the 2024 edition, with 345 runs.
T20I difficulties
The added attention from Ayub’s PSL success has brought pressure to his international career. The current mismatch of his franchise and T20I returns will be a source of frustration to Pakistan, with the promise of what Ayub could bring extending his run in the side.
Since his T20I debut in March last year, Ayub has played 20 games for Pakistan, opening the batting on 16 occasions, scoring 284 runs at an average of under 16 and a strike rate of 130.87. While Rizwan and Babar have shared the role of the second opener this year, Ayub has remained fixed at the top.
Two of Ayub’s three 40+ scores in T20Is so far have come at No. 4, with his most notable contribution as an opener being a 29-ball 45 in the first T20I against Ireland earlier this month. He followed that up with another failure, scoring just six in a 194-run chase, leading to heavy criticism from Ramiz Raja, who stressed the importance of reviving the Babar-Rizwan opening partnership.
“Another thing they need to look at is their opening pair,” said Raja. “I don’t think Saim Ayub gives you security. He shows flashes of brilliance, but you have to show sustainable flashes of brilliance. If you’re not scoring 50 off 30 balls these days, it means you opening and breaking a registered pair of Babar and Rizwan is not worth it.
“The think tank needs to understand if these flashes of brilliance are acceptable to them, if these failures are acceptable to them, or if they want solid, sturdy, confident starts, which Babar and Rizwan have always provided,” Raja added.
Breaking up the Babar-Rizwan partnership
While Babar and Rizwan have scored more runs together than any other opening T20I partnership in history, part of the reasoning behind breaking it up for Ayub is their strike-rate. Of T20I opening partnerships with over 1,000 runs, only Andy Balbirnie and Paul Stirling (7.90) have a lower run rate than Babar and Rizwan (7.92).
Ayub’s PSL strike-rates, 165 and 158 in the two most recent editions respectively, batting alongside Babar, seemed a workable solution to the powerplay run rate problem. However, so far Ayub has not delivered a strike rate increase. The highest partnership run rate he has in T20Is is 7.86 with Babar, and his overall T20I strike rate of 130.87 is significantly below his rate in the PSL.
Promoting Ayub and letting his innovative shots shine through at the top of the innings while fielding restrictions remain in place was well intended. Now, the conundrum lies in whether to show more faith in the promising youngster, or whether to return to their established openers, despite their limitations. Ayub’s promise was enough to break-up a more-than-established partnership. Delivering on that promise ahead of the T20 World Cup is essential to keeping his place at the top.
