There is a quiet confidence that Saim Ayub exudes while answering tricky questions just like the effortless ease with which he plays the 'no-look' pick-up pull shot, one of his signature stroke in a nascent but eventful career so far. So, when he was asked about his feelings about losing to India in New York in a T20 World Cup game last year which he didn't play, the retort was short and crisp.
"Sir, it has been a year and half. At that time, if you had asked me, I would have told you how I felt. Do you remember? I do not remember now," his reply was almost a counter-punch ahead of Pakistan's most important Asia Cup game against India on Sunday.
Does it make things easier that he doesn't know what kind of pressure is associated with an India game? "I think this is the message of our team management for the last three-four months. The most important thing 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."
The 23-year-old, who will compete against India for the first time in an international fixture, played down the hype just like all others do on the eve of the game. "It is going to be a big match for the people. We do not see it like this as a team. We see that we follow the same process day by day in the next match."
Ayub wasn't ready to give the India match any extra importance and even brushed aside queries about his childhood memories of watching Indo-Pak games. "Memories do not matter. This tournament matters the most. We are not just looking forward to the Pakistan-India match. We are looking forward to win the tournament."
His last four scores have been 0, 17, 11 and 0 but Ayub believes that the team management has a lot of confidence in his abilities. "It's in our hands to just make an effort. No one can tell who will perform at the end of the day. We all trust each other," he kept it short.
However, he indicated that there wasn't much dew while bowling second against Oman and the wicket remained dry which might prompt head coach Mike Hesson and captain Salman Ali Agha to play all their three specialist spinners -- leg spinner Abrar Ahmed, left-arm orthodox spinner Mohammed Nawaz and left-arm wrist spinner Sufiyan Muqueem. "If it looks too dry, then we go for three spinners. And if we feel that it is important to play fast bowlers, then we will go that way."
He also didn't feel that playing Jasprit Bumrah is a greater challenge for him even though he hasn't ever faced him. "Definitely, it is a challenge. When you play a match, every type of bowler is a challenge for you. The biggest challenge is to make the team win. To find ways to do that. We are in the present moment. We are in the match. That is what is important."
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