Salman Butt destroys Sikander Bakht over distasteful remarks on Babar Azam after captaincy resignation

Former Pakistan batsman Salman Butt has slammed Sikander Bakht for his distasteful remarks on Babar Azam. Bakht lashed out at the Pakistan star after he announced his decision to step down as Pakistan's white-ball captain.

After leading Pakistan in all three formats, Babar had resigned from captaincy last year following the team's dismal performance in the ODI World Cup. Shan Masood replaced him as the Test captain while Shaheen Afridi replaced him as T20I captain.

However, Afridi was sacked after just one series as a captain and Babar was reinstated as the T20I captain by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Babar, however, failed to justify the decision. Under his captaincy, Pakistan drew the home series against a second-string New Zealand side, lost a T20I against Ireland, and lost the series in England before crashing out of the T20 World Cup at the group stage.

While many expected Babar to be sacked immediately after the T20 World Cup, the PCB decided against it. However, Babar has now himself decided to give up the Pakistan captaincy. Earlier this week, the right-handed batsman announced his decision to step down as the captain.

However, his decision has not gone down well with many including Bakht. Soon after Babar announced his decision, Bakht decided to slam him. Bakht stated that Babar should have shown some shame and resigned as the captain immediately after Pakistan's campaign in the T20 World Cup ended.

"Ab sharam ayi! (You finally felt ashamed!) As soon as our World Cup was over on 16th June because we had not qualified further, he should have resigned at the same time. The whole nation was saying that he should have resigned. But he was stubborn.

"Because his style was like this, he was king (In a sarcastic way). His performance was not good, neither was theirs. Anyway, they should have seen that we are removed in two ways. I don't know what happened to him," Bakht told Geo News.

Salman Butt hits out at Sikander Bakht:

With Sikander Bakht lashing out at Babar Azam, Salman Butt has leaped in the defence of the latter. Speaking on a local television channel, Salman Butt slammed Bakht for his distasteful remarks on Babar, saying that he does not respect the batsman because he himself lacks any respect.

Salman Butt also went on to state that Babar has been one of the most consistent batsmen in the history of cricket for Pakistan. The former Pakistan captain concluded by saying that even though Bakht does not like Babar, he should have been careful with his remarks.

"Respect can only be given by someone who has it themselves. If you don't have something, how can you offer it to others? It's very unfortunate that you're speaking this way about Pakistan cricket's best performer in recent years. There has not been anyone before or even currently as consistent as him for Pakistan," said Salman Butt.

"Liking or disliking is a natural process. Even if you don't have anything positive for someone, you can still choose your words carefully, considering the other person's stature, and speak accordingly," he added.

"Unfortunately, this comment is about who (Babar Azam) is the most consistent batter in Pakistan as no has been this consistent like him."

Salman Butt pic.twitter.com/RLL9afhxIH

— Abu Bakar Tarar (@abubakartarar_) October 3, 2024