http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Salman-Butt-c2418 – An investment which failed to come good - Opinion
During their tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 cricket team faced their biggest setback, when a British tabloid, the New of the World, broke the story about the visiting side’s players bowling deliberate no-balls in consideration
for money. Consequently, the Green Shirts lost three of their premier cricketers, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Mohammad-Amir-c76675.
Most of the former cricketers are depressed that international cricket lost two of the finest fast bowlers (Asif and Amir), but not many show their sympathy for the left-handed opener (Butt). Understandably so, being the captain of
the team, Butt, 27, must be held responsible for bringing a bad name to the country's cricket.
However, Butt’s ban from competitive cricket is an equally big loss, if not a bigger one, taking into account the Pakistan Cricket Board’s investment on the cricketer from Lahore.
Since the left-hander started playing club cricket, he was expected to make it big because of reasons other than just his playing abilities. He burst into the scene in 2000, leading Pakistan Under-17s in the Asia Cup held in Karachi.
The stylish cricketer went on to represent other junior teams of the country as well, including the Pakistan Under-19 squad for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754.
By consistently handing over the captaincy of many junior teams to Butt, PCB was making a long-term investment in the young batsman, who was not just predicted to play for Pakistan but was also tipped to lead the national team in
the coming years.
At times, the opener’s performances were not up to the mark, yet, he was preferred over many other talented batsmen. Some in the cricketing ranks slammed the board because of the undue favours Salman enjoyed in the selection process.
After some brilliant performances in domestic cricket and for Pakistan ‘A’, Butt was eventually handed over the Test cap against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Multan-c819 in 2003. The left-hander remained in and out of the national side for a period of
time, before becoming a permanent member of the team in all formats of the game after the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007.
As predicted since his early days, the bulky cricketer was handed over the Test captaincy when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 in 2010.
During the tour, Butt proved his credentials as a captain, proving that he was efficiently trained to do the job since his teenage, winning a Test against Australia (after 15 years) and England respectively, before the spot-fixing
controversy arose during the last five-day match of the tour.
Upon his arrival back home after serving jail in England, the former Test captain expressed that the hardships have made him stronger and he still hopes to return to the international fold.
"I have seen prison, served two years of my ban and I'm still serving the ban. I have suffered a lot and thank God that the time has passed, it was difficult period but I had family support," Butt said. "I will try my best to display
better character and represent Pakistan again.”
However, chances are extremely dim that Butt will ever return to the national team and his promising career (which included three Test and eight ODI hundreds) is potentially finished.
Ex-Chairman of PCB, Lt. Gen (R) Tauqir Zia, is one of those many who think that the former Test captain does not deserve a chance and his career should be considered over, although he is in favour of giving another opportunity to
Mohammad Amir.
“I have a very strong view on such issues. I believe that anyone involved in any such corruption should not be allowed back into Pakistan cricket. However, there is one aspect that could allow for some leniency in this whole situation
and that is Amir’s age,” he believes.
Considering Pakistan’s headaches regarding captaincy, Butt’s presence would have solved all the problems. Unfortunately however, PCB’s investment on the left-handed opener failed to bear fruit.
Disclaimer: Any views and opinions expressed in this article are of the author and do not represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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