'Wish he had such a clear mind in 2010 when he was match-fixing' - Michael Vaughan hits back at Salman Butt

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has always had the knack of staying in news columns. Time and again, the former cricketer has proven that he has little to do what the public and media think, as he expresses himself without any qualms on his social media platforms.

His comments often attract plenty of responses and flak from both cricket experts and the social media crowd, but being at his nonchalant best, Vaughan pays no heed before making his next remark. In a recent interview, he went onto say that the only reason Kane Williamson is not the greatest player in the world is that he is not an Indian.

“If Kane Williamson was Indian, he would be the greatest player in the world. But he’s not because you’re not allowed to say that Virat Kohli is not the greatest, because you’d get an absolute pelting on social media.”

“So, you all say Virat is the best purely to get a few more clicks and likes, few more numbers following here. Kane Williamson, across formats, is equally the best. I think the way he plays, the calm demeanour, his humbleness, the fact that he is silent about what he does. It’s just that he doesn’t have the 100 million followers on Instagram and doesn’t earn the $30-40 million or whatever Virat gets every year for his commercial endorsements,” Vaughan said.

Salman Butt bashes Vaughan, he responds 

While none had problems with his appreciation and backing for Williamson, his remarks on Virat Kohli did not go down well with many. Taking note of his comments, Pakistan batter Salman Butt put forth his opinion on his YouTube channel, where he stated: “Kohli belongs to a county that has a huge population. On top of that, his performance is better too. Virat has 70 international tons at the moment, no other batsman from this era has that many.

“And he has, for a long period, dominated the batting rankings because his performances have been outstanding. So, I don’t understand what and where is the need to draw comparisons. And who has compared the two? Michael Vaughan. He was a brilliant captain for England, but the beauty at which he used to bat, his output wasn’t on par. He was a good Test batsman but Vaughan never scored a single century in ODIs.”

Butt even accused Vaughan for saying things that can stir up a debate. “Now, as an opener, if you haven’t scored a century, it’s not worth discussion. It’s just that he has a knack for saying things that stir up a debate.”

Not in a mood to take it from Butt, Vaughan slammed him in a comment he posted on CricTracker’s Instagram post. “Very true comment by Salman. I also haven’t been done for Match fixing!!” read his comment.

In another Twitter interaction, the 46-year-old replied to Aaj Tak Bangla’s tweet that reported Butt’s comments. “No idea what the headline is… but I seen what Salman has said about me … that’s fine and he is allowed his opinion but I wished he had such a clear thought of mind back in 2010 when he was Match fixing !!!” wrote Vaughan.

Notably, The ICC had banned Salman Butt, Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Asif for 10, 7, and 5 years respectively after they were found guilty of spot-fixing during the Lord’s Test in 2010.