Former Pakistan batsman Salman Butt slammed current captain Babar Azam for his lack of match-winning skills during the team’s disappointing 2024 T20 World Cup performance. The Men in Green lost unexpectedly to co-hosts the United States in their tournament opener, followed by a six-run loss to archrivals India.
The back-to-back defeats left Pakistan in danger of being eliminated before reaching the Super Eights. Babar’s players did recover some pride with a seven-wicket victory over Canada in their previous match, preserving their thin chances.
What Salman Butt Said
Former players didn’t stop criticising them as Salman Butt critiqued Babar Azam and others for claiming to be giants while delivering nothing when it counted.
In a social media video, Salman Butt stated,
“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.”
Babar Azam has struggled in the competition as only amassing 90 runs at an average of 30 and a strike rate of less than 105 over three games.
In the vital match against India the 29-year-old was dismissed for 13runs as Pakistan failed to chase down an unimpressive 120 losing by six runs.
Salman Butt on Team India
Salman Butt praised Team India for being mentally superior to Pakistan due to their consistently outstanding results over a long period.
With the current victory, the Men in Blue have won seven out of eight T20 World Cup matches against Pakistan.
Butt added,
“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.”
While Pakistan is struggling in Group A of the T20 World Cup, India is on a roll winning three games in a row.
The Men in Blue advanced to the Super Eights with a win over the USA in New York yesterday.
Also Read: ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Babar Azam Blames Tough Pitch for Pakistan’s Struggle In Chase