'I admire Virat Kohli,' shares Saim Ayub

Pakistan's young batting sensation Saim Ayub shared that Virat Kohli inspired him a lot when the former Indian captain survived his bad pitch and returned to his form in style. 

Speaking in Geo News' program Score, Saim said he usually doesn't follow particular players. 

"I usually don't follow particular players. Cricket has become fast, and players all around the world are following aggressive brand of cricket. So, I follow all players who play aggressive cricket. I try to follow one quality of every great player and learn from it," the youngster said. 

"If you talk about one particular player, then he is Virat Kohli. I like his ethics more than his skills. The way he came out from his bad patch and gained his form back is exceptional. It is something to learn from him. I personally learned a lot from this quality of him,

"It doesn't matter how strong you are on good days. The real test is your bad times and then you realise the importance of your work ethic. For this, I admire Kohli," he shared. 

Being the captain of Indian cricket team, Kohli suffered massive criticism as his performance went down drastically. After T20 World Cup 2021, Kohli resigned from captaincy to shift his focus on performance. The cricketer was also given a brief break in 2022 after which he returned to the Indian side followed by improved performance. 

Saim rose to fame in Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 8. Despite performing in all three formats during the domestic season 2022-23, Saim didn't get as much attention as he got after PSL 8. 

During the franchise tournament, the left-handed batter, while representing Peshawar Zalmi, scored 341 runs in 12 matches at an average of 28.41. He smashed five fifties during the tournament. Also, he batted as an opener alongside Pakistani skipper Babar Azam. The opening duo remained the most successful pair in the tournament. They both scored the highest partnership of 162 runs in the tournament. 

On the basis of PSL 8's performance, Saim got maiden call-up to national T20I squad. He opened Pakistan's batting alongside Mohammad Haris in the absence of the team's regular opening pair of Babar and Mohammad Rizwan. The opening batter scored 66 runs in three matches. 

Keeping in mind his potential future for Pakistan, Saim has been retained in Pakistan's squad for home T20I series against New Zealand. 

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