Salman Butt responded to statement made by Pakistan’s team director, Muhammad Hafeez, after the Men in Green lost the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne by 79 runs.
Hafeez made his comments during the post-game press conference following Australia’s convincing 2-0 lead in the three-game series. It is important to note that former cricket player Mohammad Kaif said the same thing following Australia’s victory over India in the 2023 World Cup final.
During the Boxing Day Test, Cummins was the standout bowler. After taking five wickets in each of the two innings, he was declared the Player of the Match and given the Johnny Mullagh medal. With one game left, his 10/97 match figures helped Australia secure the three-match series.
A terrible year for Australia – Salman Butt’s sarcastic reaction
Although Australia triumphed in the main event, Kaif believed that India was the superior team on paper. Butt sarcastically implied that many people believe the Australian team is lackluster and that they have had a poor year. Salman Butt recently shared his thoughts in his latest YouTube video regarding this point.
“It has been a terrible year for Australia, as they have not been good on paper. When they won the World Cup, former Indian players said India were the better team on paper, and now, after winning the Test series against Pakistan, Mohammad Hafeez suggested that Pakistan played better,” said Salman Butt.
Butt heaps praise on Australia’s fast bowler, Pat Cummins, on how he had led his team from the front, expressing his admiration for the captain. Additionally, he stated that although Cummins has performed incredibly well, left-arm speedster Mitchell Starc’s performances still left a lot to be desired.
“He (Mitchell Starc) bowls a short spell, where he finds a couple of wickets. Otherwise, he has not been consistent. Pat Cummins has been leading Australia’s bowling attack with his captain’s spells. At the moment, he is the No. 1 bowler of the world,” he added.
Pakistan need to understand that Test cricket is real cricket- Salman Butt
Salman Butt thinks that in order for Pakistan to demonstrate some future improvement, the management of the team needs to give red-ball cricket top priority. He said that the Pakistani board has to think about raising the quantity of Test matches played by the national squad.
“The only way Pakistan can improve in the long run is by making their players play the longest format regularly. Test cricket should be Pakistan’s priority, and should play the same number of Tests that the top three or four teams do. They need to understand that Test cricket is real cricket,” Salman Butt elaborated.
The former Pakistani cricket player, Salman Butt, also emphasized how Nathan Lyon hasn’t had a big influence in the series despite bowling to Shan Masood, the captain of Pakistan’s Test team.
“Shan Masood attacked Nathan Lyon and played him freely in the second Test. Yes, he is a very good bowler, but doesn’t look confident when he bowls to Shan Masood or when someone attacks him,” Salman Butt further added.
Pakistan will try to win the third Test consolingly in order to regain some pride. The Sydney Cricket Ground will host the series’ final match from January 3–7.
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