Pakistan replace Saim Ayub with Sahibzada Farhan for ODI tri-series

Pakistan have replaced top-order batter Saim Ayub with Sahibzada Farhan for the remainder of the ongoing ODI tri-series also featuring England and Sri Lanka.

A PCB media release stated that Ayub's exclusion from the squad was a result of a conversation between the player and head coach Mike Hesson, in which Ayub expressed his "desire to return to domestic cricket to work on his batting form and regain confidence", following which "the team management and national selection committee have mutually agreed to accept this request".

Ayub scored only 21 runs in three matches in the tri-series in what has been an extension of his poor batting form this year. He averages just 16.55 in 19 matches for Pakistan across all three formats in 2026, and has posted only one score of more than 50, which came against Australia in February ahead of the T20 World Cup.

Ayub was ignored for the ODI and Test series against Bangladesh as well as the ODIs against Australia that followed. He returned to the Pakistan side for the Birmingham Test against England in September. But that came amid an extraordinary upheaval in the squad, which saw seven players being sent home mid-tour, and the head coach and bowling coach getting sacked altogether.

Ayub, who was recalled midway through his stint at the CPL, ended up falling for a duck in both innings in Birmingham.

Pakistan's decision to replace Ayub with Farhan, who made his ODI debut this March, indicates their desire to reinvigorate their top order. Their top three of Ayub, Fakhar Zaman and Babar Azam has had a horrid run so far in the tri-series, where they collectively average just 15.11. Overall, Pakistan's top order's average of 19.81 is the lowest among all ODI sides this year.

Speaking after Pakistan's sensational one-wicket win against England on Sunday, which secured them a berth in the tri-series final with one group match to go, Pakistan captain Shaheen Afridi had indicated a top-order reshuffle.

"Yeah, there might be [changes in the top-order]," Afridi said at the post-match presentation. "We need some runs from the top order. We need that attacking game in the powerplay, and I hope we will bring that energy to the team."

Though the PCB's media release mentioned Ayub's desire to return to domestic cricket, there is no domestic game scheduled until the conclusion of the tri-series, except for the final of the President's Trophy, the first-class competition, from October 27 onwards. Ayub, however, is not part of either team in the final.

Ayub's franchise commitments and international duty kept him away from the President's Trophy. While he was in the West Indies playing for Jamaica Kingsmen in the CPL during the first two rounds of the tournament, he then joined the Pakistan side for the Asian Games in Japan and the home season.

His return to domestic cricket, however, could come next month at the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan's premier first-class competition.

On Sunday, the PCB, less than two hours before the match between Pakistan and England in Lahore, had announced the inclusion of another top-order batter in Maaz Sadaqat in the squad at the expense of left-arm wristspinner Sufyan Moqim.