Pakistan cricket team's batting coach Adam Hollioake praised left-handed batter Saim Ayub saying he has never seen a player with his talent.
Ayub, 22, recently made his Test cricket debut during Pakistan’s three-match red-ball series which they lost 3-0. The left-handed batter only featured in the third match but failed to impress as he scored 0 and 33 runs in two innings.
However, despite a disappointing outing in the Perth Test, Saim managed to impress Hollioake who went on to call him the most talented player he has ever seen.
"I haven't seen a more talented player than Saim Ayub. He didn't play the first 2 Tests (in Australia) so I spent a lot of time with him (in practice),” Hollioake said.
“After a couple of Tests, you've hardly beaten his edge, haven't gotten him out, and you realize you're dealing with a player with a lot of talent. I think he's a potential great of the game.”
He then went on to state that while Test cricket doesn’t get any easy in the early stages of a career, Saim possesses the ability to be one of the best players.
“It's early days and Test cricket is hard, but he has the ability to be one of the great players. Mentally, how he stands up to the grinds of international cricket and bounces back from failure (is something we'll see). Everything else, he ticks all the boxes,” he added.
Earlier, Saim admitted that after missing the first two Tests Down Under, he didn’t expect to play in the last match.
"One and a half years ago, I was watching [the Pakistan team] on TV. I never thought I would play with them so soon. Especially in Tests - I didn't think it would happen. I had only played 14 first-class matches up till then. I thought I might need a few years to get into the Test team. I thought I'd be working on my technique and mentality," he said as quoted via ESPN Cricinfo.
"By Allah's grace, I got into the team. The Test cap is the most valuable thing to me. I was very excited about it. They suddenly told me. I was surprised. I was ready mentally. I was really happy.
"The debut doesn't happen again, so you have to now look past it. You have to dominate international cricket. There are no more excuses. You have to do it."
- Saim Ayub