Saim Ayub Hits Back On India-Pakistan Questions: ‘I Do Not Remember…’ | Cricket News

Young Pakistan opener Saim Ayub confidently dodged all questions about his team’s lopsided record and recent troubles against India, ahead of the teams’ clash in the 2025 Asia Cup on Sunday in Dubai.

One of the first questions he was asked in the pre-press conference was about whether he remembered the last T20I between these two sides in the USA during the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup. India were bowled out for just 119 but they managed to restrict Pakistan were restrcited to 113/7. Ayub, who was still finding his feet in international cricket at the time, didn’t play in the game.

“Sir, it has been a year and half. At that time, if you had asked me, I would have told you how I felt. Do you remember? I do not remember now,” Ayub retorted to the question.

He said that it’s a theme of his team not to think much about that game, or even too many other past India-Pakistan matches.

“I think this is the message of our team management for the last three to four months. The most important thing is to learn from the past and move forward. We don’t want to remember the past and don’t want to focus too much on the future,” Ayub said.

The 23-year-old then shifted the focus to the Asia Cup as a whole.

“It is going to be a big match for the people. We do not see it like this as a team. We see that we follow the same process day by day in the next match. Memories do not matter. This tournament matters the most. We are not just looking forward to the Pakistan-India match. We are looking forward to win the tournament,” he said.

Ayub will be a key cog for Pakistan in the big game, not just because of his exciting opening prospects but also with his part-time spin that got the Men in Green their first two wickets against Oman on Friday.

Saim Ayub on Jasprit Bumrah challenge

Ayub was also asked about Jasprit Bumrah, India’s ace pacer, who has been a top performer against his team. But Ayub played that down, too.

“Definitely, it is a challenge. When you play a match, every type of bowler is a challenge for you. The biggest challenge is to make the team win. To find ways to do that. We are in the present moment. We are in the match. That is what is important,” he said.

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