Saim Ayub misery at the Asia Cup 2025 continued on Wednesday. The Pakistan opener was dismissed for yet another duck in the PAK vs UAE clash in Dubai. It was Ayub’s third consecutive score of nought in the tournament, the joint second most in T20Is.
Saim Ayub in this Asia Cup
- 0 (1) vs OMAN
- 0 (1) vs IND
- 0 (2) vs UAE
Ayub has more wickets than he has scored runs this Asia Cup, which further adds to his woes. The record for most consecutive ducks in T20Is remains with Abdullah Shafique who got 4. Ayub is now joint second with 3, and will be keen to add a run to his name. In his last 6 innings, the Pakistan ace has 4 scores of 0.
Overall, it is Saim Ayub’s 8th duck for Pakistan in T20Is. It is the third most for Pakistan, behind Shahid Afridi and Umar Akmal. Afridi also had 8 ducks, but achieved them over 90 innings. Ayub meanwhile did it in half the time, reaching the unwanted record in just 44 innings.
Ayub has particulary struggled in the UAE in T20Is. In his 11 games, the left-hander has been out for a duck 5 times. He averages a paltry 16.09 in the Gulf country. His strike rate is 122.06, down from his overall career strike rate of 135.54. Overall, it is his 5th duck in 2025, the joint most in a calendar year alongside Sanju Samson. The India wicket-keeper got 5 ducks in 13 T20Is last year.
If Pakistan harbour any hopes of winning the Asia Cup title, they would need Ayub to fire in all cylinders. However at this point, the left-hander is even struggling to get past the first over of the innings. Fortunately for him, Pakistan do not have a reserve opener in the squad. Fakhar Zaman has opened the batting in the past, but that would leave the middle order light.
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