Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) star Virat Kohli is loved all around the world. The latest who admires him–is Pakistan’s new batting sensation, Saim Ayub, the left-handed batter who played as an opener in the recently-concluded Afghanistan T20I series of Pakistan.
In his debut series, Peshawar Zalmi’s star, Saim Ayub shined in the third T20I vs Afghanistan. Ayub scored 49 runs to take his side post the 183-run target. Ayub recently played in Babar Azam-led PSL franchise Peshawar Zalmi.
Saim Ayub considers Virat Kohli to be one of the best athletes in the world-
“I wish to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore, I follow the IPL too. I love their kit and Virat Kohli plays for them too, I admire Virat bhai’s journey from a youngster to a legend and he’s one of the best athletes in the world,” said the left-handed batter on Nadir Ali’s podcast.
Besides, the left-handed batter’s stylish batting and consistency made him a solid candidate for his maiden call-up to the national side. In 12 matches he scored 341 runs in PSL 8.
“I wished to bat with Babar bhai. When I scored a fifty against Lahore Qalandars in PSL, Babar bhai appreciated me on the other hand. We opened and I scored fifty in front of him.
“I celebrated that. I didn’t celebrate my first fifty because it was a losing cause. In the next fifty, I was standing with Babar bhai and felt so proud so I celebrated it,” he further added.
Pakistan batter Saim Ayub on wishing to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL alongside Virat Kohli. #IPL2023
Video credits: Nadir Ali Podcast pic.twitter.com/uNV4M1DPlf
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) April 9, 2023
Babar is regarded as one of the great batters of International cricket–and is most often compared to Indian ace batter Virat Kohli. He is currently the No.1 ODI batter for over 700 days. Babar has a total of 28 hundred in all formats of International cricket, with a little over 59 average in the 50-over format.
“There’s a picture where I’ve raised my bat & Babar’s congratulating me. I’ve saved that picture & keep looking at it. It’s inspiring & gives me confidence.
“Sometimes I get tears in my eyes because I stood alongside the world number one batter & made a fifty,” stated Ayub on Babar Azam.
While the 20-year-old is set to feature in the upcoming T20I series for Men in Green against New Zealand starting on April 14th in Rawalpindi. Whereas, in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, RCB is set to face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in the 15th match of the league at Bengaluru on April 10.