‘He shouldn’t be here’: Nasser Hussain hits out at Pakistan with Virender Sehwag example

Saim Ayub and Virender Sehwag (Image credit: Agencies) Former England captain Nasser Hussain has criticized Pakistan’s decision to bring Saim Ayub into the Test squad straight from the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), saying the young batsman “shouldn’t be here”.Ayub’s return to the Pakistan Test team ended in a nightmare when he was dismissed for a duck in both innings of the third Test against England at Edgbaston. The young pacer faced just 11 balls in two innings, with England pacer Ollie Robinson dismissing him both times.Ayub came to England after playing T20 cricket in the CPL. Hussain questioned why Pakistan decided to bring him into the Test match without adequate preparation for the conditions.Speaking to Sky Sports after Pakistan ended the second day at 52-2 in their second innings, Hussain said Ayub should not have been picked for the Test.“The truth is he shouldn’t be here. He’s come from the CPL and he hasn’t played first-class cricket for a while,” Hussain said during the daytime show on Sky Sports.Hussain said that bringing players straight from T20 cricket to Test in England was a bad decision.“I don’t know who thinks it’s right to fly someone over from foreign conditions, playing a completely different format, and think he’ll be fine in those conditions against the Dukes ball, against Ollie Robinson and England’s bowling attack,” Hussain said on why Ayub was destined to fail in those conditions against a team of England’s calibre.

Hussain recalls the example of Sehwag

Hussain also recalled what happened when India once took a similar approach with Virender Sehwag.Sehwag was brought to England without enough match practice and struggled at the same venue. Hussain said that if even a player of Sehwag’s experience could struggle, Pakistan should not expect Ayub to succeed immediately.“Virender Sehwag tried it on this ground if you remember… they flew him in. Virender Sehwag got a couple and that’s Virender Sehwag who is a better and more experienced player than Saim,” Hussain pointed out.Hussain said Ayub must take some responsibility for the knock he played but questioned the decision-makers who picked him.“So a little bit of responsibility goes to the kid for the shot he played. But also, who thought it was a seriously good decision and that he’s going to be OK this week?”“It’s just kind of disrespectful and disrespectful to Test match cricket. Test match cricket, as any cricketer will tell you, is the most difficult format. Batting at the top of the order in England is the most difficult task and you just feel like you can fly someone in from some part of the world and go, good luck,” he said.