Salman Butt slams selection policy after Pakistan lose 1st Test against Australia

Pakistan made a lot of changes to their cricketing set-up, including the coach and captain but still could not change their sagging fortunes in the ongoing tour of Australia. Taking on the Baggy Greens at The Gabba in their opening game of the ICC World Test Championship, Azhar Ali’s side slumped to defeat by an innings and five runs to concede a 0-1 lead in the two-Test series. The next Test is a day-night affair in Adelaide starting November 29.

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt was disappointed with the team’s loss in Brisbane and slammed the country’s selection policy. The 35-year-old former opening batsman, who was banned from international cricket on charges of a spot-fixing scandal in England in 2010, said Pakistan did not do the right thing by testing new players in the tough series which is a part of the ICC Test Championship.

“This is an important series of ICC Test championship, you should have picked your best-experienced players for the tour,” Butt told the media in Karachi ahead of his side Central Punjab’s Quaid-e-Azam Trophy match.

Salman Butt felt Pakistan should have gone with their best at Gabba

He said the Test match against the Kangaroos was not one to see who all will play for Pakistan regularly after a few years but picking the best to give the best shot possible.

“This is not the time to test those who will play for Pakistan regularly after a few years, this was time to go with your best players as the series was part of ICC Test Championship,” Butt, who scored over 5,000 international runs in 33 Tests, 78 ODIs and 24 T20Is, said.
Pakistan picked three new players in Naseem Shah, Kashif Bhatti and Musa Khan for the series. Abid Ali was also picked as a top-order batsman.

Butt, who still aspires to make a comeback to the national side, said experienced players could have been picked to produce a better result. He also emphasized on players who are doing well in domestic cricket.

“Four day cricket is important, this is the format that can produce players for red-ball cricket for Pakistan,” Butt, who scored 83 in his last innings against Sindh, said.

On the possibility of him getting picked for the national side again, Butt said he is not a selector and hence could not answer who is picked and who is not.

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