Young Pakistan opener Saim Ayub has expressed his desire to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) alongside Virat Kohli in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

The southpaw impressed one and all with his exploits in the 2023 edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL) while playing for the Babar Azam-led Peshawar Zalmi team.

“I wish to play for Royal Challengers Bangalore, I follow the IPL too. I love their kit and Virat Kohli plays for them too,” Ayub said on the Nadir Ali podcast.

“I admire Virat bhai’s journey from a youngster to a legend and he’s one of the best athletes in the world,” he added.

Here’s the video:

During the conversation, the 20-year-old also shared his experience of batting along with Babar Azam, who is widely regarded as the best batter in Pakistan at present.  

“I wished to bat with Babar bhai. When I scored a fifty against Lahore Qalandars in PSL, Babar bhai appreciated me on the other hand. We opened and I scored fifty in front of him.

“I celebrated that. I didn’t celebrate my first fifty because it was a losing cause. In the next fifty, I was standing with Babar bhai and felt so proud so I celebrated it.

“There’s a picture where I’ve raised my bat & Babar’s congratulating me. I’ve saved that picture & keep looking at it. It’s inspiring & gives me confidence.

“Sometimes I get tears in my eyes because I stood alongside the world number one batter & made a fifty,” Ayub said.

In the PSL 2023 season, Saim Ayub amassed 341 runs from 12 matches at an outstanding strike rate of 165.53 with five half-centuries.