Saim Ayub snubs Peshawar Zalmi teammate Babar Azam, Names Two India players in T20 XI

Pakistan youngster Saim Ayub has picked his World XI for the T20 format, and surprisingly, he has left out three big names.

Although Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still playing IPL, they have retired from international T20s, which justifies their name being omitted. But Saim has also left out Pakistan's modern-day batting maverick Babar Azam.

Babar Azam not Included

Saim Ayub has raised eyebrows with a bold selection call that notably omits his national teammate and Peshawar Zalmi captain Babar Azam. Despite enduring a rough patch in PSL 2025, where he's managed just 119 runs in eight innings at a modest average of 14.87, Ayub has drawn attention for reasons beyond the field.

Speaking on the Off Topic Zalmi podcast, the 22-year-old was asked to name his ideal World T20I XI, with a unique restriction: a maximum of two Pakistani players. However, Ayub went even further, choosing to include just one Pakistani cricketer- Fakhar Zaman, leaving out several high-profile names, most notably Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan.

The exclusion of Babar, one of Pakistan's most decorated modern batters and the current captain of Zalmi, has sparked curiosity.

Instead, Ayub opted to pair Fakhar Zaman with Australian power-hitter Travis Head at the top. The rest of his batting lineup features England's Jos Buttler, West Indies' Nicholas Pooran, and South Africa's Heinrich Klaasen-clearly favoring aggressive, modern T20 stylists.

Two Indians in Saim Ayub's Team

Apart from that, Ayub's team features two Indian players, thus further raising the eyebrows. In the team, the southpaw has picked all-rounder Hardik Pandya, while pace sensation Jasprit Bumrah is another Indian in the team.

Along with Bumrah, Ayub picked Australian pacer Mitchell Starc and snubbed Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi.

Saim Ayub's World T20 XI

Fakhar Zaman (Pakistan), Travis Head (Australia), Jos Buttler (England), Nicholas Pooran (West Indies), Heinrich Klaasen (South Africa), Hardik Pandya (India), Ben Stokes (England), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Mitchell Santner (New Zealand), Mitchell Starc (Australia), Jasprit Bumrah (India)