Salman Butt likely to be Pakistan's next vice captain
Salman Butt, the Lahori-born opener from the Pakistan cricket team has emerged as the favourite to win the coveted position of the vice-captaincy for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka followed by the England tour as well. Ijaz Butt, who is the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board, along with Mohsin Hasan Khan, the chief selector for the team, recommended Salman Butt’s name for the position of vice-captain. Coach Waqar Younis and Captain Shahid Khan Afridi, who have been recently appointed by the PCB for the forth coming tournaments, have also agreed with the move.
According to sources, the final announcement will be made towards the end of this week along with the rest of the team for the Asia Cup by Ijaz Butt.
The left-handed opening batsman has served as a vice-captain of his team in the past as well. Initially in 2007, Salman Butt worked as the vice-captain of the Pakistan cricket team. However, he was removed within a short time period without clarifying the reasons for his dismissal.
The PCB decided to go for Salman Butt as it is still not confirmed that whether Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal and Younis Khan will be able to take part in the upcoming series due to fines and bans imposed by the board. In the present scenario, Salman Butt was the best available option according to the Pakistan Cricket Board. According to media critics and experts, Salman’s appointment as the vice-captain of Pakistan is of immense importance. On the other hand, they are still uncertain of Afridi’s elevation as a Test captain. Shahid Afridi will really have to work hard in order to prove his critics wrong. The hard hitter has been appointed as the captain for all versions of the game in spite of the fact that he has not played a test match since 2006.
It seems as if the board as well as the PCB selectors are themselves confused about Afridi’s talent as a test captain so they have promoted Salman Butt onto the pedestal as well. The strategy seems quite clear that in case Afridi failed to justify his place in the Test squad, the team will have a back up captain in the form of Salman Butt.
The left handed batsman has played a total of 125 matches with 27 Tests, 76 ODI’S and 22 T20 matches. Salman Butt is one of the few players of his team who possess an excellent educational background.
After being appointed as the vice-captain, Salman will now have to play with a sense of responsibility, keeping his own form and fitness at a constant level. He will have to focus more on his batting technique as well as his strategy in order to avoid early dismissals in a match. There is no doubt that Salman Butt is growing as a mature professional with every passing day and his role will be of utmost significance for the entire nation in the upcoming series against Australia and England. The player has shown consistent performances in the recent past.
Salman Butt has been given a great opportunity by the PCB and he can surely learn a lot from serving under Shahid Afridi and the senior management. His performance in the T20 World Cup has changed every one’s perception about him. With his hard work and dedication, Butt has proved the critics wrong who had blamed him for being an unfit player for the shorter format of the game.
His tremendous knock in the T20 World Cup has surely helped him towards his promotion in the side. With an average run rate of 44.60, Butt was the third highest run scorer in the T20 Championship with 223 runs to his credit. Throughout the tournament, the left hander’s strike rate remained well above 131.07 runs per 100 balls.
Salman Butt has a lot of cricket left to play. The stylish left handed player has got ample time to learn and develop himself into a good leader in order to lead his team from the front in future.
