We Want To Win Asia Cup, Not Just India Match, Says Pakistan's Ayub Khaleej Times

After falling for a duck with the bat and claiming two wickets with his part-time off-spin against Oman, Pakistani opening batsman Saim Ayub got ready to face questions from reporters on his team's high-octane Asia Cup clash against India.

He kept rocking from side to side in the chair while responding to every query with unblinking eyes.

What was on display at the press conference room of the Dubai International Stadium was not arrogance. This was a young man exuding confidence in his talent despite the lean phase with the bat.

The left-hander has registered only two half-centuries in his last 10 international games.

But now, as he prepares to play his first match against fierce rivals India, Saim doesn't want to dwell on the past.

For him, every match is a new opportunity to make amends and repay the team management's faith in him by unleashing his full range of shots, which has made him one of the most exciting young players to watch when in full flow.

The 23-year-old also dismissed questions on Pakistan's failure to chase down 120 against India in New York at the 2024 T20 World Cup with undisguised contempt.

“It's been more than a year now since Pakistan played that match. We don't want to dwell on the past,” he quipped.

The Karachi-born player also showed no interest in revealing his childhood memories of watching Pakistan-India matches, the storied cricket rivalry he was about to become a part of.

Instead, he emphasised his only focus is on improving his performances to help Pakistan win the Asia Cup, not just Sunday's match against India.

“Memories don't matter; what matters now is this tournament, and we have come here to win the Asia Cup,” he said.

“So we are not just looking forward to the Pakistan-India match, we are looking forward to winning the tournament.”

Saim said the Pakistan team is not paying any attention to all the hype around the match against India, which will take place just four months after the two nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours came to the brink of an all-out war.

“The India-Pakistan match is very big from the people's perspective. But for the players, we don't look at this that way, we just try to follow the same process that we do for every match,” he said.

“We will try to focus our plan and try to execute it well in the match. This is the same process for every match. As players, we trust each other in the team, if someone is not able to perform, then someone else will try to win the match for us.”

But can Pakistan continue with their new philosophy of playing fearless and aggressive cricket against an in-form Indian team featuring so many big stars, including Jasprit Bumrah, the world's best fast bowler?

“Our aim is to play fearless cricket in every match, not just against India in Sunday's match,” he retorted.

“And for Bumrah, well, facing every bowler is a challenge in international cricket. What is important is to remain in the present moment and try to find ways to win matches.”

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