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Saim Ayub's CPL return delayed after Razaullah's heroics stretches third England-Pakistan Test to four days: Report
According to a report, Saim Ayub's return to the CPL has been delayed, primarily due to Razaullah.
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Saim Ayub's return to the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has been delayed, primarily due to Razaullah, the fast-bowling all-rounder, who recently made his Test debut against England in the third and final match at Edgbaston, Birmingham. According to Cricinfo, the left-handed opening batter was originally scheduled to fly from the United Kingdom to Barbados on Friday night, with Jamaica Kingsmen obtaining permission from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for his return if the third Test at Edgbaston finished inside three days.
However, Razaullah’s spectacular show with the bat extended the contest into the fourth day before England eventually completed an eight-wicket victory. The right-handed batter played a quickfire knock of 81 runs studded with nine sixes, the joint-most maximums by a player in his debut Test.
As a result, Ayub’s departure from England was pushed back by at least 24 hours, ruling him out of Kingsmen’s match against Barbados Tridents in Bridgetown. Ayub had been enjoying a productive campaign in the Caribbean before his surprise Test call-up. His absence has already affected Kingsmen once during Pakistan duty, with the franchise suffering a defeat against Guyana Amazon Warriors last Saturday.
His delayed departure from England means the Kingsmen will have to wait longer for his return, although the franchise is expected to have him available for the remainder of the CPL. Pakistan have no international fixtures scheduled during that period, allowing Ayub to return to Jamaica Kingsmen once his Test commitments are complete.
The Pakistan batter will be unavailable for another important fixture, leaving Kingsmen to navigate their playoff push without one of their key overseas players.
Ayub's lacklustre outing against England
Ayub was drafted into Pakistan’s Test squad after the team made sweeping changes following their heavy defeat in the second Test. He travelled to England directly from the Caribbean, where he had struck a century only days earlier.
His Test return, however, proved far less productive. Opening the batting, Ayub recorded scores of zero in both innings and failed to claim a wicket with the ball. He bagged a pair in the contest, and his inclusion into the squad was severely criticised by Nasser Hussain, with the former England captain calling it “disregard and disrespect” for Tests.
Speaking of the third and final Test, Pakistan suffered an eight-wicket loss, to lose the series 0-3. England chased down the target of 130 inside the first session on Day 4 with Joe Root playing a captain's knock and hitting a half-century.
