We aim to play fearless cricket against every team: Saim

Pakistan opener Saim Ayub exudes an air of confidence while wielding his willow. Leaning back in his chair after a mixed display against Oman that saw him dismissed for a duck and claim two wickets, he embodied that quality even in his exchange with the media as he looked ahead to the big game against India on Sunday evening.

Yet to lock horns with the arch-rival, Saim perhaps doesn’t have any of the psychological scars of recent battles between the two nations. When Pakistan slumped to a six-run defeat in a chase of 120 at last year’s T20 World Cup, the 23-year-old was a spectator from the bench. He claimed to have no recollections of that defeat.

“The message of our team management for the last 3-4 months is to learn from the past and move forward. We don’t want to remember the past and don’t want to focus too much on the future,” he said.

In light of Pakistan’s renewed focus towards playing a more fearless brand of cricket, can the players walk the talk against a pedigreed opponent like India?

“Our aim is to play fearless cricket against everyone,” Saim declared.