Waqar Younis Frustrated With Pakistan Star's Woeful Show: "This Guy Needs To Be Benched"
With 4 ducks in last 6 matches, Saim Ayub has had a horror run in the Asia Cup 2025 so far.
- Waqar Younis criticised Saim Ayub's poor batting form in the Asia Cup and suggested benching him
- Saim Ayub has scored only 23 runs in six Asia Cup matches for Pakistan
- "I said it after the second duck, I said this guy needs to be benched," said Waqar Younis
Despite two heavy defeats against India, Pakistan have somehow managed to drag themselves into the final of the Asia Cup 2025. However, with the final set up against the tournament's most in-form team, India, there are concerns in the Pakistani camp over the form of certain players. For Pakistan great, Waqar Younis, one such player is Saim Ayub, who has only scored 23 runs in six matches since the start of the Asia Cup campaign in the UAE. Younis, in a blunt verdict, simply wants Ayub out of the team.
From the six matches that Saim has featured for Pakistan in the Asia Cup, he was dismissed in four without even opening his account. Since Pakistan's next match is the title-decider against India, Younis doesn't want to take chances.
"Look, I said it after the second duck, I said this guy needs to be benched. It's not that he is not talented; he is very talented. I think he is the future of Pakistan cricket. But sometimes when things are not going right for you, you just keep going in the shell, keep going down and down, and that's what is happening here with him. His body language was poor this afternoon when he walked onto the field," the Pakistan fast-bowling great said on Sony Liv.
While Ayub has been a total flop with the bat, he has given Pakistan a few wickets with the ball, hence managing to retain his place in the team. But, Younis wants the hard call to be taken, purely on the basis of his batting, asking the management to bench him for the final.
"You know, he is a youngster, you really need to look after them sometimes, by just not playing them sometimes."
"Pakistan kept on playing him, just purely because he can bowl. You don't need to worry about his bowling; Pakistan needs to worry about his batting. If he is going to give us runs or not. At the moment, it's not happening. He needs to dig deeper in his game to score a few runs."
Pakistan Cricket Team