Who is Saim Ayub - Pakistan's young batting sensation picked for Australia Test tour?

Every Cricket World Cup generally marks the beginning of a new cricket cycle for teams, irrespective of the result.

As the ODI tournament is held every four years, it is a good milestone to gauge the general health of a team since the players participating in it mostly play red ball and white ball formats.

For Pakistan, the 2023 World Cup was a poignant moment as they made a clean break from the past, overhauling their entire set up. Babar Azam gave up captaincy in all formats after an indifferent World Cup, while team director Mickey Arthur and head coach Grant Bradburn were removed from their positions; former skipper Mohammad Hafeez took over both roles.

Top-order batsman Shan Masood was given the Test captaincy while left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi was appointed T20 captain.

Pakistan’s next assignment is arguably the toughest in cricket – a three-match Test series in Australia. The Aussies are the 50-over and Test champions and Pakistan have a poor record in the country, losing 14 Tests in a row there.

With premier fast bowler Naseem Shah injured and Haris Rauf unwilling to play Tests, Pakistan have a severely weakened bowling attack that will once again be led by Afridi.

However, their batting still holds a lot of promise. Masood is best suited for the fast surfaces of Australia, while Azam, Mohammad Rizwan and Abdullah Shafique, too, should hold their own.

All eyes, however, will be on a young batsman widely tipped to be the future star of Pakistan cricket – Saim Ayub.

The 22-year-old left-handed batsman has been making waves across formats. The Karachi player has already represented Pakistan in T20 cricket but the upcoming series is where the world gets a proper look at him.

Ayub has broken into the Pakistan Test