Akhtar wants Butt back

Denzil Pinto 00:09 17/12/2016
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  • Piling on the runs: Salman Butt has been in fine form across formats.

    Former Pakistan fast-bowler Shoaib Akhtar has urged the national selectors to recall disgraced batsman Salman Butt to the team “as soon as possible” following their latest batting debacle.

    Pakistan face an uphill task in the first Test against Australia’s after being restricted to 97-8 in reply to the hosts’ 429.

    Twenty four hours earlier, hundreds of miles away in Pakistan, ex-skipper Butt, playing in his first major first-class tournament since his five-year ban for spot fixing ended in September, pressed his case by hitting an unbeaten 105 – his second ton in the four-day game for Water and Power Development Authority in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

    And with Pakistan failing to deliver with the bat, Akhtar said selectors cannot afford to overlook Butt any more.

    “Salman has served the ban and every bit of trouble that he had is in the past,” said Akhtar at the Sprite Cricket Stars event at Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed Stadium.

    “They need to get him back into the team as soon as possible and get him there immediately. He has suffered enough and people who have suffered enough should be forgiven. Now he is free to play and we should allow him to do so.”

    Pakistan have a poor record Down Under, failing to win a Test series on Australian soil in 11 attempts. The “Rawalpindi Express” feels the team can end that record but the players have to show “guts” for the remainder of the tour.

    “Pakistan’s batting was always a problem. But every now and then we would get good bowlers who would run through batting line-ups,” said Akhtar, who took 247 ODI and 178 Test wickets.

    “Unfortunately we didn’t have those bowlers now who can produce super spells. (Mohammed) Amir and Wahab Riaz are not striking together. At the same time Yasir Shah is not firing because it is his first tour (to Australia) and it won’t be easy for him.

    “Pakistan have got to show some fighting spirit in batting and hopefully they will show guts and won’t get more embarrassed.”

    He added: “If Misbah (ul Haq) and Younis (Khan) are in the side then they have to soak this pressure. It doesn’t matter how old they are. I back them to do well but they will have to perform.”

    With questions raised about Misbah’s future, Akhtar insists the 42-year-old should leave with dignity.

    “It’s really up to him (when to retire) and ultimately it comes down to performances. Misbah needs to decide when to leave but he must leave with dignity and people should not forget what he has done” he said.

    Akhtar also took exception to the way PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan revealed the board had lost faith in ODI captain Azhar Ali, just before the Test series in Brisbane.

    “I heard what Shaharyar said about Ali and you don’t give that sort of a statement ahead of a crucial series. You let the team come back, look at the performance and then decide on their fate. Saying something like that in between is uncalled for.”

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