Saim Ayub credits PSL, coaches for bowling strides

Pakistan's Saim Ayub is currently the world's number one T20 all-rounder. During an exclusive chat with Cricbuzz following a net session with Sylhet Titans in the ongoing Bangladesh Premier League, Ayub spared some time to share his journey from an opener to an all-rounder.

Here are the excerpts:

Two years ago when we sat together we talked about your journey as an opener. Today, we are interviewing an all-rounder. How has this two-year journey been?

The journey has been very good, and it feels like those two or three years passed in just two days. And it feels like just yesterday that we came to the BPL and did an interview with you, and today we are doing it again. So, that's life. And overall, the journey is good and I keep enjoying it.

The transformation you made, from an opener to an all-rounder, how was that journey?

I used to do a little bit of bowling in club cricket as well, but since the PSL happened, Peshawar helped me a lot. And then when I came into the Pakistan team, they showed belief in me and did a lot of technical and tactical work with me. But to be honest, I was not expecting that I would see such good bowling figures. But the credit goes to the coaches who worked so much, and I also put in full effort that if I can help the team, then why not.

You have almost made power play bowling your own. What is your mindset while bowling in the power play?

In the Pakistan team especially we decide one thing very clearly that this is our plan and this is the area where we have to bowl. And to bowl in that area we have net sessions where we practice what our technical work is required in our bowling and what the mindset should be. Then in the match those things happen automatically just by reading the batsman. The intent is that we don't need to be scared bowling against any batsman and need to put him under pressure.

You use both skill sets in the same way, how did you develop this? Off-spin everyone bowls, but how did you adopt leg-spin?

During the COVID period in 2020, I tried leg-spin. When I saw in 2019-20 that a new trend had started, especially finger spin, which Mujeeb brought in, so when that trend started, I said let's try it. And I started enjoying it in the net sessions. Whenever I was free, I started doing it. And then, over time, muscle memory developed.

And when right-handers come in does that muscle memory work for you?

Yes, absolutely, muscle memory works. But all the work has to be done in practice-whether it's bowling, action, or which area to bowl in. So you do it in practice and then in the match, try to be fearless.

You have a series against Sri Lanka coming up, and after that the World Cup. How is this BPL serving as preparation for you?

BPL is very good preparation because the conditions are not the same in every match. And for example, if we talk about the Sylhet stadium, people say it's a good pitch, but I don't think so, here you get different kinds of pitches. Sometimes the score is 190, sometimes 130, as you have seen in the last three days. So the best thing is that you get to play in difficult conditions here. That helps to play under pressure and adapt to different conditions. So it's always a good preparation while playing BPL.

Is there one shot in the playbook that makes you feel that this is your day if executed perfectly?

I don't think about any shot that if this shot works, I will feel relaxed. It's not like that. I try to play all shots. Like if the ball is on off-stump, you have all the shots there - cut shot, drive, over mid-off, third man, everything. If it's on leg-stump, everything is available there. So I keep all shots open in my mind. There is no one specific shot that makes me feel comfortable.

But doesn't playing one good shot make you feel that today is your day?

No, I don't think like that, because if you play one good shot and then make a mistake on the next ball, you'll get out. So avoiding that mistake and maintaining focus - if that stays intact, then you can make the day yours.

Mike Hesson wants you to take on a very aggressive approach. How do you feel about adapting to that? It's not that you always win, but the approach is quite aggressive as a team.

As a team, our mindset is exactly this - that we don't want to lose any match and how we can win it, how we can dominate it. Even like recently in the tri-series in Pakistan, we had already qualified for the final, but still we took that match (seriously) in a way where every match is about focusing on that day. And how we can completely dominate the opposition and not give them even a slight chance to make a comeback in the match. This is our approach in every match.

How is your preparation for the T20 World Cup?

There isn't much time yet to think about the T20 World Cup, but when we go to play the T20 World Cup then we will think about it. Right now, it's BPL, and after that the Sri Lanka series.

Would you mention one coach who has worked a lot with you on your bowling?

The bowling coach we currently have in the Pakistan team has worked a lot on our bowling and has helped me a great deal.

Ashley Noffke?

Yes, he's Australian. And he's a really good coach, and I've received a lot of help because of his bowling input.