Former Pakistan player Salman Butt on Monday opened up on India’s defeat to New Zealand in the 2021 T20 World Cup. He also said that a major factor could be the amount of cricket India has been playing on a constant basis.
However, Team India has had a poor start to the competition, where they have lost their opening two matches to Pakistan and New Zealand respectively as well. While speaking about their hectic schedule and its impact, Butt shared his views on his YouTube channel.
He said: “It is important for players to be fresh. Look, you are doing the same thing every day (when you play hectic schedule). There is no doubt that the incentive, salaries and contracts are very high and attractive. But at times, you have to have your heart in the job that you have to perform optimally. If you are not fresh enough, if you can’t disconnect and connect again, then your concentration span or your intensity to go out and do your best, that gets hampered. There is a drop in your interest.”
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Salman Butt again said: “It needs to be managed in a way that ahead of a major tournament, teams can regroup. For 15-20 days or for a month before the World Cup, teams should have their own preparation instead of playing in some competition, especially in one where they are playing as part of separate teams.”
He also said that it was natural for any team to suffer this poor show when the players are playing so much cricket. However, he shared that they just need to absorb the pressure and move on.
“India just need to reboot. People need to realise that when there is so much hype, so much pressure and when you are playing so much cricket, then these sudden and drastic defeats do come. When the volume of cricket that you play is so high, then this will happen. You need to absorb it and move on,” Salman Butt said.
He continued: “And they didn’t regroup before the World Cup. Before the Test series in England, India’s players had a month off. Then they played the series and then immediately had the IPL. Four days after the IPL final, the World Cup started, and the first match in the World Cup is one where expectations are sky-high.”
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Salman Butt again stated that India doesn’t need an entire change in their playing XI despite having faced two big defeats to Pakistan and New Zealand as well. India will next take on Afghanistan on November 4 as well.
“Coming back from bad form and drastic failures is a part of the game. This is not the first time in the world that a team has lost like this. I don’t think they need major changes. The issues that needed to be addressed before the World Cup are still the only areas where they need change in. Carrying half fit players, some selection issues, over reliance on some players who don’t have a lot of international exposure — all of this hurt India,” Salman Butt concluded.
