Former Pakistan player Salman Butt slammed current captain Babar Azam for his lack of match-winning performances amid the side’s
poor 2024 T20 World Cup campaign. They faced a shocking defeat to co-hosts USA in their tournament opener, followed by a six-run loss to arch-rivals India as well.
In a social media video, Salman Butt said: “There is self-proclamation that our captain is the king and the other is the world’s best fast bowler. Sometimes we compare this guy with (Jasprit) Bumrah and him (Babar) with (Virat) Kohli…Okay, you touched ICC (top) ranking at one point, but also touched reality sometime. Are you able to win a match on your own? Is there a standing of our team? It’s similar to those YouTube thumbnails that you are enticed to click and open once.”
“Besides its good things, one bad thing about social media is that you can get anything done by paid campaigns…your decisions are based on paid campaigns. We should bring these self-proclaimed greats back on earth and (tell them to) stay who they are. First win a match, a big tournament, fight it out to win against a big team, finish a match single-handedly, then think what you want to proclaim,” he again shared.
However, Babar Azam has struggled so far in the tournament, scoring 90 runs which came at an average of 30 and a strike rate of under 105 in three games as well. In the crucial India match, the 29-year-old was dismissed for a 10-ball 13 as Pakistan failed to chase a below-par 120 and suffered a six-run defeat as well. Salman Butt praised Team India for being mentally superior to Pakistan as well.
“India is very different from us…Their mental superiority is winning them matches…Because of being consistent, because of playing tougher teams, playing better cricket, and giving better results, mentally they are accustomed now. They don’t feel the pressure now like they used to earlier. But we haven’t grown. There are changes in cricket every year, but we are not growing with that, so we are getting weaker. The other teams are growing, mentally as well,” concluded Salman Butt.
