"Younis Khan's experience would have been beneficial in England, West Indies" - Salman Butt
Salman Butt feels that the Pakistan team will definitely miss batting coach Younis Khan's experience on their upcoming tours of England and West Indies.
Younis Khan made the shocking decision to quit his post a couple of days before the Pakistan team was due to fly off to England for three-match ODI and T20 series. The development was accompanied by a bevy of rumors, including a possible altercation between him and fast-bowler Hasan Ali and some travel-related issues with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
The PCB has been coy with its response to the issue and hasn't announced a replacement for Younis Khan yet. Speaking on the issue on the YouTube channel Cricket Baaz with Waheed Khan, Salman Butt said:
"See, Younis bhai has plenty of batting experience. He has scored everywhere in the world. In that aspect, they are losing an experienced member... He is a premier batsman from Pakistan's recent history and is one of the best players that Pakistan produced. His experience would have definitely been beneficial."
Some media reports suggest that Younis Khan and Hasan Ali got into a spat during Pakistan's tour of South Africa over the latter's denial to take an ice bath and the issue got out of hand. However, in a recent interview, Khan, albeit admitting the spat, denied it was the reason behind his decision.
Another widely-shared rationale is that the Pakistani legend had a showdown with the PCB over his request to join the bio-bubble for the England tour a few days after the others because of dental treatment in Karachi.
The ice-bath matter wasn't for Younis Khan to interfere: Salman Butt
Speaking further, Salman Butt said that if the ice-bath controversy is true, then it was wrong on Younis Khan's part to interfere in the issue. He remarked that as batting coach, Khan's focus should only have been on his players' cricketing matters.
"But the reasons that are emerging, if what's being shown is true, if those issues are with the players, and the players' group isn't feeling easy... then God knows what has happened there. Neither Misbah nor the board wants to comment on it. Everything is from the media that there was a fight with a player or there was something with Hasan about an icebath.
"If this is true, then this isn't his (Younis Khan's) matter [to interfere]. If he wasn't taking an ice bath it was the job of the manager to talk to him. It is not the job of any coach to tell a player what to do apart from their cricket," added Salman Butt.
Pakistan's tour of England will kickstart with a three-match ODI series on July 8.