Durdanto Dhaka's Pakistani recruit Siam Ayub had previously been to Bangladesh twice. The first time, he came here with the Pakistan U-19 team while he represented Rangpur Riders in the last edition of the Bangladesh Premier League. The 21-year-old top-order batsman, who already has represented Pakistan in one Test and 12 T20Is, has been considered one of the most promising cricketers in Pakistan cricket and he recently talked to The Daily Sun regarding his BPL stint, his cricketing journey and comparison with great Saeed Anwar.
 
Here are the excerpts from the interview:  
 
The Daily Sun: How are you enjoying this BPL?

Saim Ayub: I am really enjoying it. The last time when I came here, I did not play a lot of games (two matches). I am enjoying this time and have a very warm relationship with the coach and players. When the environment is good, and you are enjoying your game, you can always make a comeback.

The Daily Sun: You are in a sticky situation (Durdanto Dhaka). So you need to pull up your socks.

Saim Ayub: It is the right time to get back into a rhythm because we played four games and could only win one game. If we want to take part in the playoffs, we need to win and we can’t make mistakes any more. Both the players and management are thinking in this line and the mistakes that we have made before, we should not repeat them.

 The Daily Sun: How did you start your cricket journey?

Saim Ayub: My father had a liking for cricket. My elder brother plays amateur cricket in Dubai for his Bank and when he was like me, he wanted to play cricket. But my family was reluctant about it and asked him to focus on his studies. Fortunately, it was not the same case with me and probably the reason was I was the youngest son of my family. I started playing tape ball cricket in the flat road and park and broke a lot of things. People were really irritated with me. Seeing my passion for the game, my father got me enrolled in the PIA Academy in Karachi.

The Daily Sun: Didn’t you say anything to him?

Saim Ayub: No, I didn’t have to ask for it. My father said you have so much passion for the game and I am getting you admitted to an academy. Later cricket turned into my profession. I started learning cricket from the academy and later started playing club cricket. I was part of an age-level tournament which was followed by PSL. Now I’m in the national team and I was part of all age-level programmes and didn’t miss any stage.

The Daily Sun:  How did you feel to be called the future Pakistani star since your early days in cricket?

Saim Ayub: It felt good in 2018 during the Australia tour with the Under-16 squad. I was the highest scorer and everyone praised me from that point. I felt that everyone was dreaming about me from Under-16 days and it made me happy and motivated me to work harder. Because I had to play in the Under-19 next year and I was the highest run scorer there as well. But I didn’t have a good start in the PSL and that failure taught me a lot of lessons. If you don’t fail, you will never know about your weaknesses. So at times, failures help you a lot.

 Because of the failure in the PSL, I realized very early how professional cricket can be and you can't fly high. However, if you are down all of a sudden, you might not handle it mentally. So whether you are good or bad, you have to remain the same.

The Daily Sun: Now you are playing in T20Is and Tests. Do you have any desire to play across formats?

Saim Ayub: I have the same passion for all three formats and since the ODI World Cup ended, we didn’t get any ODI matches. When it comes, the selectors will make a call. But I want to be an across-format cricketer.

The Daily Sun: You are always compared with Saeed Anwar. How do you see that?

Saim Ayub: Saeed Anwar is a legendary cricketer of Pakistan and he is one and only. No one can be like him. People say I play like him though I haven’t thought it that way. But it is nice to hear that. I can be only Saim Ayub and I cannot be Saeed Anwar. When he was like me, no one used to know him and gradually he made a name for himself. I also want to be a legendary cricketer like him.