"Not a contender to win" - Salman Butt on Australia after their back-to-back defeats in 2023 World Cup
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt believes the current Australian side have many weaknesses and looks like a pale shadow of their glorious past.
Butt reckoned that Pat Cummins and company do not have a strong batting unit or a quality spin attack to win the showpiece event. He feels that Australia would have looked like a much stronger unit had they added senior players like opener Usman Khawaja and off-spinner Nathan Lyon to their squad.
"Australia don't have the combination that can win a World Cup. Yes, it's cricket after all, and anything can happen, but they are not a contender to win the World Cup. It is quite evident that this isn't the same mighty Australian team of the past. They have had scores of 199 and 177 so far. Their batting is weak, and to make matters worse, they lack quality spinners as well," Butt said in his latest YouTube video.
"They should have picked Nathan Lyon. Usman Khawaja is a fantastic player, and he should have definitely been part of the squad. Excluding him was a poor decision," he added.
Australia suffered a six-wicket loss to India in their opening encounter of the 2023 World Cup. They failed to come up with an improved performance in the subsequent clash against South Africa, succumbing to a 134-run defeat.
Their batting let them down in both games, as they were bundled out for 199 and 177 against India and South Africa, respectively.
"More all-rounders than pure batters" - Salman Butt on Australia's team combination
Salman Butt stated that Australia missed the trick by not having enough genuine batters in their lineup. He mentioned that they cannot afford to rely heavily on their all-rounders for fireworks with the bat.
The 39-year-old added that Travis Head's absence has a big role to play in Australia's struggles. He remarked (1:38):
"When you look at Australia's batting, they have more all-rounders than pure batters. Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, and Mitchell Marsh are all all-rounders and not genuine batters."
"Then there is Josh Inglis, who is a keeper-batter," he continued. "They just rely on Marnus Labuschagne, David Warner, and Steve Smith, who are the only three genuine batters in their lineup. Even in that, Labuschagne isn't a very effective batter in white-ball cricket. Travis Head's absence has had a big impact on their chances."
With two defeats to their name, Australia are currently languishing in the penultimate spot in the 2023 World Cup points table.