Salman Butt tears apart PCB for ruining Babar Azam

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has taken a brutal dig at the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for their poor handling of Babar Azam's captaincy. Butt claimed that PCB brought in two guys who had humiliated Babar Azam on live TV.

The 'two guys' Butt was referring to are Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim who have previously criticized Babar Azam openly on live TV. Babar Azam is under immense pressure after Pakistan's poor run in the T20 World Cup 2024, where they bowed out of the group stage.

Babar Azam was amid all the criticism as he was also the team's captain in last year's ODI World Cup. His low strike rates in T20 cricket have further added fuel to the anger of the experts who want Pakistan's captain to be sacked from the role to concentrate more on his batting.

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Salman Butt tears apart PCB for ruining Babar Azam's captaincy

During a conversation with Cricket Pakistan, Salman Butt tore apart PCB for creating a situation of chaos around Babar Azam. Butt claimed that PCB brought in two players into the squad despite knowing that they humiliated them on live TV.

"Yes, Babar (Azam) is not a good captain, but what have you contributed to make it easier for him? You brought in two guys who humiliated him on TV. Then you changed the captain and brought him back after two series. You are creating corners within the team yourself."

Both Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim had already retired from international cricket but came back for the T20 World Cup 2024. Pakistan's failure to reach the semi-finals for the second successive ICC tournament has brought in huge criticism from the country's former cricketers and experts around the world.

Mohammad Amir had an excellent tournament as he picked up 7 wickets in 4 matches at an average of 10.28 and an economy rate of 4.50. But his hugely-debated 18-run Super Over against USA cost Pakistan the match, which proved to be crucial in the end.

On the other hand, Imad Wasim had a poor tournament with the bat with 19 runs from 3 innings at an average of 9.50 and a strike rate of 65.51. He was hugely criticized for his 23-ball-15 against India which cost Pakistan a straight-forward win over arch-rivals India. With the ball, he picked up 3 wickets at an average of 14.66 and an economy rate of 4.00.

"There needed to be proper man management in the team" - Salman Butt

Salman Butt didn't stop here and further slammed the board for ruining Babar Azam's captaincy by saying that the board officials did not give him an ideal preparation.

"There needed to be proper man management in the team. You are having him managed by those who couldn’t manage themselves their whole life. You have wronged Babar; yes, he is not a good captain, but you didn’t give him ideal preparation either," said Butt.

Babar Azam resigned from Pakistan's captaincy after the ODI World Cup 2023. But he was brought in just a few months before the T20 World Cup 2024 after the appointment of new chairman Mohsin Naqvi.