10 Cricketers who led both U19 and national teams
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4. Salman Butt (Pakistan) – 2002:
Salman Butt led the U19 World Cup team for Pakistan in 2002. The team led by Butt included names like Umar Gul and Azhar Ali. It was not a great tournament for him, however. Pakistan failed to reach the semi-final and were eliminated after the Super Plate games. It was a mixed tournament for them where he successfully led against India while losing to Nepal. Overall, he led his team to four wins out of the six games. With the bat too he had average outing scoring 166 runs at an average of 33.20. But, all these performances were enough to give others a glimpse of his talent.
The next year he moved to the next level making his debut for the national team against Bangladesh in 2003. He had a promising start and drew comparisons with the legendary Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar. Eventually, leadership opportunity came when he succeeded Shahid Afridi as Test captain in 2010. He started off well and received praises for Test wins against Australia and England before his career was rocked.
Butt could have well ended his career as one of the most influential Pakistani captains of all times. But, unfortunately, he hit a career ending block due to his involvement in the biggest cricketing scandal his country has been ever embroiled into.
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