Arshad Ayub, a retired Indian Cricketer, was born on 2nd August, 1958, in Hyderabad, of Andhra Pradesh, and was a right arm off-break bowler, and a right-handed batsman. Arshad Ayub had represented India in 13 Tests and 32 One-Day Internationals. Arshad`s hallmark was his meticulous adherence to perfection in his bowling, rather than to movement. Arshad Ayub`s Test debut occurred in the India vs. West Indies series, held at Delhi, on November, 1987. Arshad attested his prowess in the very first Test. He conquered four out of the five wickets that was grabbed from West Indies, in the 2nd innings. It was only the non-challant Vivian Richards, who arrested the aggressive approach of Arshad Ayub.

Test Cricket Career of Arshad Ayub
Arshad has played 13 Test matches and scored total 257 runs with a highest score of 57 and average of 17.13. In bowling, he took 41 wickets and gave 1438 runs out of 3663 balls. Arshad Ayub turned out to be a productive tail-end batsman. In the 3rd Test, even after batting in a 9th wicket stand, Arshad Ayub, could reach a brilliant half-century (57), which was a commendable effort on the part of a lower-order batsman. This 57 was also the highest score obtained by him in the entire Test career. Arshad Ayub rose to prominence in the following season too. He was one of the prime factors behind the triumph of India in the series against New Zealand. A magnificent Arshad could easily procure an enormous 21 wickets, in three Tests.

Only a few months later, Arshad Ayub made a name for himself in the foreign land also. In the 4 Tests, that happened in the Carribbean, against the opponent West Indies squad, Arshad could gather 14 glorious wickets, a feat worth remembering on a foreign pitch. This marvellous achievement consisted of 2 five-wicket seizure. Unfortunately post this expedition, in the series against Pakistan, at Lahore, on December 1989, Arshad Ayub`s performance standards declined sharply. He ended up without carrying a single wicket

ODI Career of Arshad Ayub
It is interesting to note, that a few days after his Test debut, Arshad Ayub, underwent his first ODI debut. He appeared for the first time in the India vs. West Indies ODI at Nagpur on December 8, 1987. Ayub played excellently in ODIs as well. In 1988, Arshad Ayub delivered a fabulous spell of 5 wickets for 21, in the Asia Cup Final at Dhaka, against Pakistan. His wonderful deeds ensured and brought India a much-coveted victory. The last ODI of Arshad Ayub was the India vs. Sri Lanka at Margao, on 8th December, 1990. Arshad Ayub reaffirmed the good player that he was, and procured the wicket of AP Gurusinha. Hyderabad was the other team that Arshad Ayub has played for. This all rounder could boast of a considerably fair 2224 runs, and 268 wickets.

Batting and Fielding Averages

	Mat	Inns	NO	Runs	HS	Ave	BF	SR	100	50	4s	6s	Ct	St
Tests	13	19	4	257	57	17.13	800	32.12	0	1	25	0	2	0
ODIs	32	17	7	116	31*	11.60	162	71.60	0	0	6	0	5	0
First-class	98	129	22	3014	206*	28.16			2	16			44	0
List A	54	30	11	281	71	14.78			0	1			12	0

Bowling Averages

	Mat	Inns	Balls	Runs	Wkts	BBI	BBM	Ave	Econ	SR	4w	5w	10
Tests	13	22	3663	1438	41	5/50	8/104	35.07	2.35	89.3	4	3	0
ODIs	32	32	1769	1216	31	5/21	5/21	39.22	4.12	57.0	0	1	0
First-class	98		23899	10295	361	8/65		28.51	2.58	66.2		24	3
List A	54		2981	1990	54	5/21	5/21	36.85	4.00	55.2	0	2	0

Arshad Ayub is one among those short-term, yet distinguished players, who within their brief stay, can exhibit before the world, the extraordinary qualities, they innately possess. In January 2010, Arshad Ayub was made the manager for the Indian Cricket team for the ODIs and Test matches held in Bangladesh. Ayub also became the president of HCA.