New Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has confidence in Test squad
Shahid Afridi gave a very unpleasant surprise with his sudden decision to retire from Test cricket after his first Test in the last 4 years against a dominant Australian side at Lord’s last week. Salman Butt was the obvious choice for the troubled PCB on such a short notice since the opener was serving as the vice-captain to Afridi for the English tour. The PCB has given the responsibility to Salman Butt while Kamran Akmal will be working as the vice-captain of the team.
Over the years, captaining a Pakistani side has never been an easy task but Salman Butt is confident that he will perform his duties to the best of his abilities. The left-handed opener admitted that he did not have a clue if Shahid Afridi was going to resign on such a short notice but he appreciates Afridi’s honest decision. Afridi, who has done remarkably well in T20 and ODI’s, but failed to spark the test side, decided to quit the test format of the game after his failure in the Lord’s test. Salman Butt was vice-captain and was partially prepared to take over the role of captain just in case something did happen. Shahid’s decision was completely unseen since he announced his retirement minutes after the first test match defeat against Australia in the MCC Spirit of the game Series.
A PCB spokesman announced Salman Butt’s name as the new captain for the rest of the English tour. "This morning we have decided that Salman Butt will captain the team from now. He will captain the team against Australia in the next Test and he will then also lead the team against England. Kamran Akmal is the vice captain. The PCB will then decide on who will captain the Test team from then on after that series."
Salman Butt was full of praise for the youngsters who made their debut in the first test against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in front of a big crowd at Lord’s. Umar Amin and Azhar Ali made their debut and were impressive with their technique and temperament despite the fact that they did not post big scores on the board. Salman believes that the young guys had a good temperament for the game and should be given more time to adjust at the international level. Butt said that the team is very young and is playing in some difficult conditions. Salman thinks that the team can become a strong unit if given the right opportunity and time. He further believed that all the players in the squad were committed to play for the national side and are working hard to cement their place.
The new test skipper said that he doesn’t feel any added pressure because of the captaincy. He further added that he has previously played for Pakistan and not for individual laurels, and he will continue to play in the best interest of the team. Butt also said that the newly built team is steadily developing a belief that they can beat any side in the test format, which is a very good sign for Pakistan’s future.
When asked about his strategy for the second and final test against Australia, Butt said that he would like to keep things simple and do the basics right. Salman Butt did not promise big things to happen overnight but stressed that there was hope in test cricket and the future of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in test cricket was safe.
Following the PCB’s announcement of the new captain, rumours relating to Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan came to a crashing halt. Some reports had suggested that Mohammad Yousuf and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-c88163 Butt to discuss different options during the game.
Salman Butt was given the responsibility following full support from the outgoing skipper Shahid Afridi and Coach Waqar Younis. http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 said, "The captain should be an example for the youngsters but that was not an example. I was in two minds whether to play my natural game or whether to take my time, you can say I was weak mentally, I'm not good enough for Test cricket. Salman is showing his maturity. He's good enough to take over this team as captain." Coach Waqar said that Salman Butt should be an automatic pick since he was vice-captain of the cricket team.
Let’s hope that Salman Butt can become the solution for Pakistan’s test cricket crises. The PCB has made a wise decision and now needs to give Salman some time to develop this young and inexperienced test team.
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