While Saim Ayub had a forgettable outing in the first innings of his debut Test, Michael Vaughan has backed him to be a superstar in future. After warming the bench during the first two Tests of the series, the highly-rated batsman replaced Imam-ul-Haq in Pakistan‘s playing eleven for the ongoing third Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
The left-handed batsman earned his maiden Test call-up after impressing in domestic circuit. In 14 first-class games so far, he has scored 1069 runs at an average of 46.47, including knocks of of 203 and 109. Saim Ayub, however, failed to make an impact in his debut Test innings and was dismissed for a duck by Josh Hazlewood.
Things then went from bad to worse as he missed a sitter in the slip cordon to give David Warner a big reprieve. Fortunately for Saim Ayub and Pakistan, the drop did not prove costly as Warner could add only 14 more runs before being dismissed for 34. Later in the innings, the debutant dropped Mitchell Marsh too who scored 54.
Michael Vaughan’s huge prediction for Saim Ayub:
Saim Ayub finally got off the mark in his debut Test in the second innings and played some attractive shots before being dismissed by Nathan Lyon for 33. His knock came off 53 balls and was studded with 3 fours and a six. And while Saim Ayub managed to score only 33 runs in his first Test, it was enough for him to impress Michael Vaughan.
The England great, who is on commentary duties for the ongoing Test, took to X to predict that the Pakistan youngster will be a superstar, writing: “Saim Ayub will be a superstar. Gone early on this one ..”
Saim Ayub will be a superstar .. #AUSvsPAK .. Gone early on this one ..
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 5, 2024
Talking about the game, Pakistan were reeling on 67 for 4 after 24 overs in their second innings. The visitors made a disastrous start and lost the wickets of Abdullah Shafique (0) and captain Shan Masood (0) for just 1 run. It was followed by a 57-run stand between Ayub and Babar Azam before both of them departed in quick succession. Earlier in the game, Pakistan bowled out Australia for 299 after scoring 313 runs in their first innings.