E-Paper
Sign in
Saim Ayub descends from golden boy to king of ducks: Can Pakistan continue to afford his failures?
Saim Ayub sets Asia Cup record with four ducks, struggling to meet expectations.
Pakistan’s opening batter, Saim Ayub has etched his name in cricket history for all the wrong reasons. He has now become the first player to register four ducks in a single Men’s Asia Cup edition. The left handed openers' struggles reached a new low in the ongoing game against Bangladesh in the Super Four stage, where he was dismissed for a bronze duck.
Hailed as Pakistan’s golden boy and next big batting sensation, Ayub’s Asia Cup 2025 campaign stands in stark contrast to expectations. His consistent early exits have not only tarnished his personal statistics but also disrupted Pakistan’s batting rhythm in crucial encounters throughout the tournament.
Breaking down Ayub’s Asia Cup 2025
The southpaw’s nightmare began in the group stages and has continued relentlessly. His four ducks have come against Oman, India, UAE and now Bangladesh in the Super Fours.
Across six innings in the tournament, the 22-year-old has managed just 23 runs, averaging a dismal 3.83. This performance is particularly concerning given his importance in the top order of Pakistan’s T20I setup.
Breaking records in the wrong way
Saim Ayub’s four ducks have surpassed the previous benchmark for most dismissals without scoring in a single Asia Cup campaign. The previous record belonged to Bangladesh’s Mashrafe Mortaza, who registered three ducks during the 2016 T20 Asia Cup.
No other batter in the tournament’s history had managed to accumulate four zeros in a single edition until Ayub’s unwanted achievement.
The Asia Cup struggles have moved him up in Pakistan's most T20I career duck leaderboard. With his latest dismissal against Bangladesh he now has nine ducks in his T20I career. This places him second only to Umar Akmal’s 10 ducks.
Impact on the team
In the initial stages of the Asia Cup 2025, Pakistan used Ayub as an opener. However, his struggles at the top made them re-strategise and use him at number three. But his woes have continued.
While opening his early dismissals were hindering the progress of the team, limiting them to moderate totals in the end. Batting at number three, Ayub did get some runs but they were made with an underconfident approach and at a rate that is well below the modern standards. In turn Pakistan lost the momentum they gathered at the beginning because of the limitations of Ayub.
The only reason that he is probably getting a go is because of his bowling. But how long will the management carry him when there are little to no returns from his primary skills?
(Get live streaming and exclusive coverage of the Asia Cup with HT's OTT Sports 365 pack.)
