Salman Butt Players Stats

Faced with the task of being the legendary Saeed Anwar’s replacement, Salman Butt shall draw comparisons with the silky opener. Equally gifted with wristwork, early testament of Butt talent was witnessed by his inclusion in the Pakistani U-19 World Cup squad when as young as 16.

Impressive performances with domestic team Lahore Whites and the Pakistan-A side saw an 18 year old Butt handed his international Test debut against a touring Bangladesh in the autumn of 2003, in which he failed to impress. It went worse on his ODI debut against West Indies a year later when dismissed for a duck. As the year progressed, so did Butt’s displays with a half-century at home to Sri Lanka and a first ODI century at India in Kolkata.

In his Test recall on tour to Australia in 2004, Butt faltered in the first test at Perth. A formidable 70 in Melbourne showed spark. Yet only 20, he followed that maiden Test half-century with a maiden Test ton in Sydney.

His second test century came in Multan against England, on the back of a 74 in the first innings, the first time that Butt crossed the half-century mark on both innings of a Test. It took Butt 4 years to record another Test century. He remained a regular in the ODI side, in spite of scoring equivalent numbers of fifties and ducks at one point. Poor Test form (owing to a susceptible defense) saw him dropped in place of Khurram Manzoor in Pakistan’s solitary Test series in 2008 against Sri Lanka. He returned in 2009, to tour Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Impressive Test performances in England (as a neutral venue) against the Aussies led to Butt replacing the retiring Shahid Afridi as captain in 2010. He led Pakistan to a victory in his first test as captain, helping them level the 3-match series.