Pakistan Set To Recall Salman Butt: Report
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Pakistan are reportedly considering the prospect of recalling their tainted former captain Salman Butt. After a mixed limited-overs series against Sri Lanka at home, Pakistan are now gearing up to kickstart their campaign in the ICC Test Championship. The Asian team will take on Australia in their maiden ICC Test Championship assignment.
Salman Butt, along with fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, was convicted of spot-fixing in 2011 and was banned by the ICC which was lifted in 2015. But while Amir returned to international cricket in December 2015, Butt and Asif have not been considered for national selection.
However, the left-handed batsman could don the Pakistan jersey once again, if reports are to be believed. As per the reports in Bussiness Recorder, the former skipper will be considered for the selection in the upcoming national assignments. The selector will come onto a conclusion for finalizing the Test and T20I squads after having a meeting with the coaches in upcoming week.
Before his ban, Salman Butt played in 33 Tests, 78 ODIs and 24 T20Is. He managed to get more than 4,500 international runs across all the formats. With age not on his side, the 35-year old will be hoping that he finally gets a chance once again. Pakistan’s batting have looked fragile in recent times and they can really utilise the experience of Butt.
He has done decently in Pakistan’s domestic circuit. Butt got the green light to play in domestic circuit in 2016 and made an instant mark by scoring 536 runs in 7 matches at an average of over 100 for WAPDA in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. During the 2017-18 National T20 Cup, he shared the world record opening partnership of unbeaten 209 runs with Kamran Akmal.
