ICC Champions Trophy 2025: Shahid Afridi delivers FINAL update on Saim Ayub's availability
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Legendary Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi has given a massive update on Saim Ayub's availability for the upcoming Champions Trophy. Ayub got injured during Pakistan's Test series against South Africa and since then, he has been out of action.
His injury came at the wrong time when Pakistan were preparing for the Champions Trophy. Ayub was seen as a vital player for the host nation given his recent form. In a short period of time, the youngster has made his name as a key player for his team in all the formats.
Also read: Rishabh Pant appointed Delhi Captain for Ranji Trophy, Virat Kohli's participation still uncertain
Saim Ayub set to miss Champions Trophy 2025 - Shahid Afridi
While speaking in a podcast on Samaa News, Shahid Afridi confirmed that Saim Ayub will not be able to recover in time for the Champions Trophy 2025. Afridi revealed the conversation with the youngster in which the latter called for three more weeks before he could start his rehabilitation.
"I talked to Saim (Ayub) last night to ask him about his health, so I called him. He told me that he needs 3 weeks and after that, his rehab will start. I advised him not to do anything in a hurry," Afridi said.
"If you have even a slight problem and if you start playing at that time, it can become a bigger one. So, I advised him to recover since he is very young and will play a lot of cricket in the future," he added.
🚨 SHAHID AFRIDI CONFIRMS SAIM AYUB WILL MISS CHAMPIONS TROPHY
— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) January 16, 2025
Afridi told Samaa News "I talked to Saim Ayub last night, he told me that he needs 3 weeks and after that his rehab will start. Pakistan will feel Saim's absence in CT 25 because we don't have backups ready" 🇵🇰💔💔 pic.twitter.com/aA5Orb8JCm
"Pakistan will feel Saim Ayub's absence" - Shahid Afridi
Shahid Afridi further called Saim Ayub's unavailability as a huge loss to Pakistan ahead of a big tournament like the Champions Trophy. He believes that the lack of bench strength will hurt Pakistan since they don't have the back for the youngster.
"The kind of form Saim (Ayub) is in, Pakistan will feel his absence (in Champions Trophy) because we don't have backups ready. I always talk about the bench strength that we should not be bothered even if we don't have Shaheen (Afridi), Babar (Azam), or (Mohammad) Rizwan," Afridi said.
"We have a few match-winners in the team. So, every player has to perform his bit and play as a team to make Pakistan win," the allrounder claimed.
Saim Ayub's recent numbers in ODIs
Saim Ayub has had a fantastic start to his international career and is already seen as the future of Pakistan's batting. While he has been impressive in all the formats, his record in ODIs stands out the most which is the reason why he will be missed in the Champions Trophy.
Recently, he scored 235 runs in three ODIs against South Africa at an average of 78.33 and a strike rate of 96.31 to help Pakistan win a historic series on foreign soil. He also emerged as the second-highest run-scorer of the series after Heinrich Klaasen.
