‘Ab jeet liye trophy?’ - Salman Butt Slams Indian Cricket Board For Sacking Virat Kohli From Captaincy

Team India are currently in New Zealand for playing the three-match T20I series. After a disappointing 20-20 World Cup exit from the semi-final against England, fans were hoping for a fresh start. They were not happy as they were hoping to see Rohit Sharma with the trophy. After last year’s dismal 20-20 World Cup performance, Virat Kohli stepped down as the T20I captain. Then, the Indian Cricket Board decided to make Rohit Sharma the captain for both the T20Is and ODIs. 

However, Virat Kohli also stepped down from the Test captaincy. Then, Rohit Sharma became the all-format captain for the Men in Blue. His record as a skipper for his Mumbai franchise in the Indian T20 League is outstanding as he managed to win five titles for them. But, Rohit failed at the World Cup stage as fans came up with criticism. Now, the former Pakistani batter, Salman Butt took a dig at the Indian Cricket Board for sacking Virat Kohli from the captaincy. 

“When had they sacked Kohli? There was no valid reason for that.” - Salman Butt on the sacking of Virat Kohli

While speaking on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt said that there was no valid reason for removing Virat Kohli from the captaincy. He said: “When had they sacked Kohli? There was no valid reason for that. The reason was that he did not win a major trophy. How many captains have actually won the major trophy?” 

“Many have spent their entire career without it. Ab jeet liye (Have they won it now)? He was a quality captain. He wasn't the only reason why the team had lost. It is not that the team has drastically improved now. If it was all about winning then it's not that Dhoni can't play in the T20s.” Butt added. 

“And how can you can for 20-20 World Cup? The format itself is so fickle and World Cups are happening so frequently and then you have various leagues going on in between. And above that, if you have someone who is fit, ready to go, and can lead you tactically then why not? Grooming can happen in bigger formats as well. But again it's all about their mindset,” Salman Butt concluded.