"They don't look like athletes" - Salman Butt body-shames Sri Lankan cricketers, calling them 'fat and unfit'

Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt made a major comment on the Sri Lankan cricket team after their loss to India in the first T20I. The match was played in Pallekele on Saturday.

Sri Lanka lost the match by 43 runs chasing 214 as they lost their last nine wickets for 30 runs. The opener Kusal Mendis (45) and Pathum Nissanka (79) added 84 for the first wicket. Then, when Nissanka and Kusal Perera were dismissed in the same over by Axar Patel, the rest of the Lankan batting lineup could not handle the pressure of the chase.

Suryakumar Yadav's introduction of Riyan Parag earned him three wickets including the last one as Sri Lanka from being 140/2 were bowled out for 170. The Indian spinners choked the Lankan batters by bowling well in tandem and won the match for India. The second T20I will be played on Sunday and India have a chance to wrap up the series.

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Meanwhile, reviewing Sri Lanka's loss in the first T20I, Salman Butt spoke about the current fitness of the Lankan players. His comments came on the back of a few fielding and catching lapses from their fielders.

Sri Lankan Side Unfit For A Long Time - Salman Butt

"The Sri Lankan side has been an unfit team for a long time. Don't you see how they look? Just a handful of them are fit but the side largely is very unfit, a few of them are fat as well. They don't look like athletes," said Butt on his YouTube channel.

He further said that the Lankan side has not produced high-class Test cricketers in the last five to eight years and this is all down to their fitness standards.

" Sri Lanka have not produced high-class Test cricketers since the last five to eight years. There is no match winner in the side. They have not found replacements for Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Aravinda de Silva and even Sanath Jayasuriya their head coach. THey are going through a rough patch," Butt added further.

In his closing statements about the game, he pointed out the difference between India and the rest of the teams mainly the Asian teams. He said that Indian players are achieving success playing just one league while the rest of the players from Pakistan and Sri Lanka are playing in various other leagues however their standard of cricket has not improved.

Every player who batted in the top six for Sri Lanka recently played in the Lanka Premier League and scored tons of runs. However against the Indian bowlers in crunch situations, they could not handle the pressure. Charith Asalanka their skipper walked out to bat in the final five overs and scored a duck. None of the batters in the middle order and the lower order scored in double digits after the top four.

Heading into the second T20I, Sri Lanka, face a must-win situation. They need to win the game on Sunday to take it to the decider on Tuesday. The Lankan skipper needs to take big calls and he needs to also score runs with the bat as well.

Also Read: "I said he's an X-Factor"- Suryakumar Yadav hints at long rope for Riyan Parag in Sri Lanka