"I had told this three years ago" - Salman Butt claims he knew Pakistan were going to get exposed in Asia Cup 2022
Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has slammed the current team for not giving the youngsters enough chances and making them ready for the big tournaments. Pakistan lost their last eight wickets for just 54 runs in the Asia Cup final in Dubai on Sunday (September 11) to suffer a 23-run defeat against Sri Lanka.
Butt believes the Pakistan middle order needs a reshuffle while admitting that there aren't too many options on the bench. He questioned the team management for not increasing the depth of the talent pool as they didn't rotate the squad whenever there was an opportunity.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, here's what Butt had to say about Pakistan's middle-order woes:
"I had told this three years ago that with such a system, there will come a time when you will start searching (for) quality players but won't find any. This management didn't give youngsters the chance to get groomed by playing with experienced players and now whatever replacements they have are very young and raw."
Salman Butt on the right questions that coach Saqlain Mushtaq needed to be asked
Butt also wasn't pleased with the kind of questions that Pakistan head coach Saqlain Mushtaq was asked after the crushing defeat in the final. He feels the questions could have been centered around some of the questionable decisions made by the think tank.
Saqlain Mushtaq "Everyone has their own style of playing cricket. We made the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup last year and now the final of the Asia Cup, so evidence suggests we are doing something right" #AsiaCup2022Final #Cricket
On this, he stated:
"I don't know why they (reporters) didn't ask the right questions to the coach. Why didn't Nawaz come to bat at the same position after his knock against India? If Shadab is playing well, how do you send Asif Ali and Khushdil ahead of him?
"If Naseem Shah is expensive at the death then why don't you complete all of his overs upfront? You speak about win the toss, win the game but who won the Asia Cup?"
Can Pakistan sort out their issues and bounce back in style in the upcoming seven-match T20I series against England? Let us know in the comments.