“Nice of Ashwin to praise them” - Salman Butt reacts to Indian off-spinner naming his favorite Pakistan cricketers
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has appreciated Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin’s gesture of praising the trio of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi. According to Butt, players from different nations respecting each others’ talent is a very healthy sign.
In a recent Q&A session on his YouTube channel, Ashwin was asked about his favorite Pakistani cricketers. He named Azam, Rizwan and Afridi, lavishing praise on the three.
Reacting to Ashwin’s praise of the Pakistani cricketers, Butt said on his YouTube channel:
“It is nice of Ashwin to praise them (Azam, Rizwan, Afridi). When players praise each other, the respect level among the cricketers increases. All the players deserve the praise. Ashwin himself is a top performer. We also praise Indian talent like Kohli, Rohit, who are outstanding cricketers. All players should respect each other and this is a very healthy sign.”
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Butt added that Azam, Rizwan and Afridi have been excellent performers for Pakistan and deserve all the praise that is coming their way. The 37-year-old stated:
“There is no doubt that all of them are outstanding performers. Every team has some star players and Rizwan-Babar are the super duo presently. There are not many opening partnerships that are as successful as the pair if we look at the T20 circuit. Overall as well, Babar scores in all formats. Rizwan also does the same although he bats in different positions in different formats. Shaheen Afridi as well, he leads Pakistan with the ball in all three formats at such a young age. They are Pakistan’s assets.”
Azam, Rizwan and Afridi played key roles in Pakistan’s impressive T20 World Cup campaign, reaching the semi-finals. While Azam and Rizwan were among the top run-getters, Shaheen picked up some key wickets.
What Ashwin said in praise of Pakistan’s trio
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Speaking about the Azam-Rizwan opening duo, Ashwin said:
“I've always been following Mohammad Rizwan and have been speaking about him for a while about the quality he brings and plays very crucial knocks but I think the standout batter & the ways he bats, the hundred in Australia, it has to be Babar Azam.”
On left-arm pacer Afridi, the 35-year-old added:
“After that real sticker that has been going around, Shaheen Shah Afridi is well, real talent. Pakistan has always some talented cricketers and they have more now.”
Pakistan defeated India by 10 wickets in their T20 World Cup encounter in Dubai. While Afridi claimed three big wickets, Azam and Rizwan smashed unbeaten half-centuries.