Salman Butt Criticizes Management Over Shaheen Afridi’s Alleged Indiscipline

July 19, 2024 0 581

During Pakistan’s UK tour, Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf allegedly clashed over Afridi’s no-balls, prompting Salman Butt to suggest that if Afridi was indisciplined, the management should have dropped him.

Salman Butt believes Pakistan could have managed the clash between Shaheen Afridi and Mohammad Yousuf better. The incident occurred during Pakistan’s UK tour before the T20 World Cup 2024. During practice, Yousuf reportedly warned Shaheen about bowling too many no balls, which led to a heated exchange where Shaheen told Yousuf to mind his own business.

Butt suggested that if Shaheen was not following plans or cooperating, the management should have taken action, including dropping him from the team, to maintain discipline and team harmony. He also criticized the management for not addressing the issue directly, suggesting that their role should be to enforce discipline rather than merely report problems.

“If the management thinks that Shaheen was not implementing the plans and was not cooperating with them intentionally, then they should have taken action. If he was not disciplined, then they should have dropped him and opted to go with some other player,” Butt said to Cricket Pakistan.

“If you gave him full opportunity despite all these issues and are now complaining, I think anybody can do that. What’s the point of appointing [big names] with hefty salaries? Management’s job is not to complain but to take action,” he added.

Pakistan’s disappointing T20 World Cup, where they lost to the USA and India, saw them exit early. As they prepare for a home Test series against Bangladesh next month, red-ball coach Jason Gillespie suggested resting Shaheen Afridi to manage his workload. The PCB had also denied him a NOC for GT20 Canada.