"India have been smart with induction of youngsters" - Salman Butt on Shubman Gill's success
Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has credited Team India for blooding youth like Shubman Gill into the team at the right time and giving him some much-needed exposure to showcase his skills.
Gill became the youngest player ever to score a century across formats when he slammed a sparkling 126* against New Zealand in Ahmedabad earlier this week. The young opener showed no nerves whatsoever and proved his critics that he can be an all-format player.
In a recent video on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt spoke about how India plan to rotate their squad so that youngsters get to play and show what they are made of. He said:
"There's been a smart induction of players in the Indian team. There's a pool of 40-50 players and most of them are getting opportunities to showcase their skills. Apart from the high-pressure games, big teams look to play their youngsters and give them exposure.
"This reduces the experience difference between the players. So I think they have been smart with the induction of youngsters."
He further spoke about India's domestic structure:
"It's not a coincidence that they're producing one world-class batter after another. It's their strong system that allows players to develop as they play long innings. That tests their temperament and whether they have all the shots in the book and also a tight defense."
Salman Butt on issues with Pakistan's domestic structure
Salman Butt also compared India's domestic structure to that of Pakistan and shed light on how the former focuses on getting their young players groomed through long-format cricket.
He feels too much T20 cricket right from the junior level is hurting Pakistan big time. On this, Butt stated:
"Our problem is we are confused. Every year there is someone new who comes and tries to change the domestic structure. And now we have made T20 cricket our first priority.
"It was fine till PSL and National T20, but now even University-level cricket, age-group cricket and club cricket have become T20s. So then whatever is happening, the result is in front of you."
It will be interesting to see if Pakistan's domestic structure changes once again under the new members of the PCB.