IND vs IRE: West Indies Aren't A Very Big Team: Salman Butt Kicks Rahul Dravid And Hardik Pandya In The Face After India's Series Loss To West Indies

Former Pakistan star batsman, Salman Butt opened on India’s performance in the five-match T20I series against West Indies.

Hardik Pandya’s side came back in the series after winning two back-to-back matches and equaled the series at 2-2. However, they failed to take the lead at any point in the series. The Men in Blues lost the fifth and series decider match against West Indies on Sunday (August 13) by eight wickets.

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill failed to score runs in the first inning. But Suryakumar Yadav’s 61-run knock from 45 balls helped the visitors to give a target of 166 runs.

In the second inning, the Men in Blues bowling attack failed to defend the target. Only Arshdeep Singh and Tilak Varma took one wicket each and the rest of the bowlers fall short of bagging wickets.

After the series loss against the Caribbeans while speaking on his official YouTube channel, former Pakistan batsman said that this was India’s normal practice match and many top players were dropped from the squad. Butt also added that it was not the kind of performance one can expect from Hardik Pandya’s squad.

“Many would say that it was a T20I series, and several of India’s top players were missing. But at the same time, this is India’s normal practice. It wasn’t the first time that a young side was picked. It also wasn’t that West Indies are a very big team, and it was very difficult for India to beat them. They surely have a big pool of players. However, the kind of performances and outcomes that you expect from India, didn’t translate into practicality this time around,” Salman Butt said.

Butt said that a defeat like this may put a dent in the Men in Blues’ confidence just like a win can boost it for the next matches.

“It doesn’t matter what the format is or who the opposition is. Winning does boost the side’s confidence for their next assignment. Similarly, a defeat like this will surely dent India’s confidence,” Butt added.

India never looked like they were in the game…: Salman Butt

The 38-year-old praised West Indies and said that they didn’t lose momentum after losing two consecutive matches. Salman also added that the Men in Blues looked like they were in the game when they started bowling.

“Usually, when a team loses two back-to-back matches in a series, they tend to lose momentum, and the other team goes on to win the final game. However, West Indies did not let that happen, and in fact, it proved to be a one-sided match. India never looked like they were in the game once their bowling started,” Salman Butt further added.

India will now focus on the coming Ireland T20I series which will start from Friday (August 18). Jasprit Bumrah will be leading the Men in Blues in the three-game series after being out of the field for more than 10 months.

The Indian selectors will be closely following Bumrah’s performance and will make a decision of including him in the upcoming Asia Cup.