A golden duck followed a 10-ball duck as Saim Ayub‘s return to the Pakistan Test team backfired dramatically. The young opening batter was brought to the team ahead of the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston. The result was him getting a pair over the two innings, failing to even open his account in the 11 balls he faced. On both occasions, it was England pacer Ollie Robinson who showed him the way to the dressing room. Having flown in straight from the Caribbean Premier League (a T20 league in the West Indies), Ayub’s unpreparedness was duly exposed, and former England captain Nasser Hussain feels the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) selection committee is to be blamed for this stunt.
In his blunt analysis of Pakistan’s second innings as the touring side lost 2 wickets for 52 runs by stumps on Day 2, Hussain said that Ayub shouldn’t have been a part of this Pakistan side.
“The truth is he shouldn’t be here. He came from the CPL and hasn’t played first-class cricket in some time,” Hussain said during a post-day show on Sky Sports.
“I don’t know who thinks it’s the right thing to fly someone over from foreign conditions, playing a completely different format, and think they’re going to be fine in these conditions against a Dukes ball, against Ollie Robinson and England’s bowling attack,” Hussain asserted, explaining why Ayub was destined to fail in these conditions against a team of the calibre of England.
The PCB has courted plenty of criticism of late for its casual approach, chop-and-change decision-making over selection of players and coaches. Hussain feels that the manner in which the Pakistan board is operating, it shows the people in charge aren’t giving Test cricket the respect it deserves.
“It is just a sort of disrespect and disregard for Test match cricket. Test match cricket, as any cricketer will tell you, is the toughest format. Batting at the top of the order in England is the toughest task, and you just feel you can fly someone in from some part of the world and go, Good luck,” he said.
Nasser Hussain discusses Pakistan’s handling of Saim Ayub and whether it was the right decision to select the opener pic.twitter.com/PMZDnRjpMY
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 10, 2026
Hussain also highlighted what the results were when India once did the same, flying in Virender Sehwag into the squad without adequate match practice in English conditions. The result was him getting a pair. To expect Ayub to produce better results, hence, shows Pakistan’s amateur approach.
“Virender Sehwag tried it on this ground, if you remember… they flew him in. Virender Sehwag got a pair, and that’s Virender Sehwag, who’s a better, more experienced player than Saim,” highlighted Hussain.
“So a bit of responsibility goes to the lad for the shot he played. But also, whoever thought that was a seriously good decision and that he was going to go okay this week?”
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