Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has responded strongly to criticism from English media and former players.
The comments followed Pakistan’s heavy defeat against England in the opening Test at Headingley. England won the match by an innings and 103 runs.
The Telegraph described Pakistan as its worst team in 50 years. Former England captain Michael Vaughan also called them “the weakest team to have ever toured England.”
Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad similarly labelled Pakistan a “poor” side.
“The things being said, the way The Telegraph wrote that this is the worst-ever team in the last 50 years and some of their players have also made similar statements,” Butt said.
Butt argued that Pakistan had never presented itself as a world-class team. He questioned why outsiders felt the need to make such harsh assessments.
“The point is, we never said that we are world champions. We never said that we are a great team, nor did we make any big claims about ourselves. But we did say one thing… what do you people think? Our team may be whatever it is, even it is the worst ever, but it is still our team,” he said.
Butt Questions England’s Squad Makeup
Butt also challenged criticism surrounding Pakistan’s squad composition. He stressed that the team represents Pakistan’s own cricket system.
“It is not a Commonwealth team. It is not a team where the captain is from Ireland, the wicketkeeper is from South Africa, the middle-order batsman is from South Africa, one player is from Scotland, another is from Australia, and someone else is from the West Indies Under-19 team who has been picked and placed here,” Butt said.
“This is our team. It is not a team made up of players from here and there. If there is any doubt about that, go and check it.”
He added that cricket teams experience different phases throughout their development.
“This is not some team made up of six different countries coming together to play. Teams go through phases. Sometimes teams don’t perform well,” he added.
Stuart Broad Maintains Pakistan Criticism
Broad, however, has stood by his comments despite criticism from Pakistani fans.
Speaking alongside former England captain Jos Buttler, Broad again backed England to complete a 3-0 series victory.
“I don’t know what we can really know about this team, but, as I said on the last podcast, I got a little bit of stick from some Pakistan fans. Pakistan are a poor side and England should win this series 3-0. If they don’t, it would be an absolute disaster,” Broad said.
“I haven’t changed my opinion on that at all. England should win this Test series 3-0, they’ve simply got a stronger side.”
Broad also questioned Pakistan’s current pace attack. However, he praised Mohammad Abbas as Pakistan’s best bowler and said he could play for most Test teams.
He was less impressed with Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad. Broad argued that they did not offer the same threat as Pakistan’s previous fast-bowling attacks.
