Former England captain Nasser Hussain has strongly criticised Pakistan’s decision to call up Saim Ayub from the Caribbean Premier League and field him in the third Test against England at Edgbaston. Ayub was dismissed for a pair in the match, scoring ducks in both innings.
Ayub was added to the side as part of seven changes made to the squad in the aftermath of losses at Headingley and Lord’s. Before his inclusion, he was featuring for the Jamaica Kingsmen in the CPL. Hussain lambasted the decision, calling it a ‘disrespect’ to the sport.
“I don’t know who thinks it’s the right thing to fly someone over from foreign conditions, playing a completely different format, and think they’re going to be fine in these conditions against a Duke’s ball, against Ollie Robinson and England’s bowling attack. It’s just a sort of disrespect and disregard for test match cricket. Test match cricket, as any cricketer will tell you, is the toughest format,” Hussain said, speaking on Sky Sports.
Nasser Hussain discusses Pakistan’s handling of Saim Ayub and whether it was the right decision to select the opener 🇵🇰🗣️ pic.twitter.com/PMZDnRjpMY
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) September 10, 2026
Why did Hussain single out Pakistan’s decision-making?
Hussain drew a comparison with a previous instance at the same ground, referencing Virender Sehwag being flown in to play at Edgbaston in 2011, and also scoring a pair. He used that example to underline the difficulty of asking any batsman, regardless of ability or experience, to perform at the top of the order in England without adequate preparation.
“Batting at the top of the order in England is the toughest task, and you just feel you can fly someone in from some part of the world and go, good luck. Virender Sehwag tried it on this ground, if you remember. I don’t know if you were playing in that game. They flew in Virender Sehwag, Varinder Sehwag got a pair, and that’s Virender Sehwag who’s a better, more experienced player than Saim Ayub. So a bit of responsibility goes for the lad for the shot he played, but also whoever thought that that was a seriously good decision and that he was going to go okay this week,” Hussain added.
What was the broader context of Pakistan’s squad for the third Test?
Pakistan made significant changes to their squad for the Edgbaston Test following their loss at Lord’s in the second Test. The third Test at Edgbaston included three debutants in the Pakistan playing XI, reflecting the scale of the overhaul the team management undertook after going 2-0 down in the series.
Hussain’s criticism centred on the lack of preparation time given to Ayub before he was asked to open the batting in English conditions. Ayub had been playing T20 cricket in the Caribbean before being flown to England, with no opportunity to acclimatise to the Dukes ball or the demands of Test cricket in these conditions. Ayub fell to Robinson in both innings, being dismissed lbw after 10 balls in the first, before nicking one to second slip with the first ball of the second innings.
