If the WTC final was India's priority, they should have finished the IPL before 20 days: Butt

In the recently concluded ICC World Test Championship Final at The Oval in England, India were thrashed by the Australians by a margin of 209 runs. The Pat Cummins-led squad dominated opponents across their entire five-day match, extending their quest for the world champion trophies tally. On the other hand, the Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, lashed out openly about the final's venue at the press briefing after the game. He attacked the International Cricket Council's (ICC) choice to hold the championship match in England and voiced the view that the game should be held before June. He further suggested March as an ideal time to conduct the mega event.

In the same vein, following the devastating loss against Australia, the former Pakistan skipper, Salman Butt, criticised Rohit Sharma for his suggestions. The former opener asserted that these talks arise when players acquire disappointing results. Butt further added that Sharma's post-game comments were not shocking. However, Salman Butt suggested that they could have considered WTC as a priority over IPL and should have arrived in England 15 days earlier to practice better by playing against some English county teams.

“Rohit Sharma asked why the final of the World Test Championship takes place in June. He also stated that it should be moved out of England. These are the debates that happen once you don't get favourable results. Instead, we should talk about priorities. If the WTC final was India's priority, they should have finished the IPL before 20 days. They should have sent their squad to England 15 days before the final to play a couple of matches against county teams," Butt said on his YouTube channel.

It has all been downhill since Virat Kohli stepped down as captain: Butt

Furthermore, the 38-year-old added that ever since Virat Kohli resigned as Test skipper in early 2022, absolutely nothing for India has gone smoothly on away tours. He assessed the extent to which the entire squad executed under his leadership in demanding situations on the field citing the examples of India's England tour in 2021 and Australia in 2018-2019, respectively.

“India has an impressive away record in Tests. However, it has all been downhill since Virat Kohli stepped down as captain. Things haven't been stable since then. They would have won in India anyway, even without having a captain. One can assess captaincy only when the team tours abroad,” Butt concluded.

Notably, India have played two consecutive WTC finals so far but ended up on the losing side on both occasions.