Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt reckons Australia won’t be a challenging team in the upcoming T20 World Cup which will kick-start from October 17.
Australia had previously lost series to the West Indies and Bangladesh by 4-1 as they were missing the services of few of their key players. However, despite having a complete squad, Butt believes that based on their present form, Australia will not pose a threat to good teams in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“Australia have hardly come up with any decent performances in recent times. Considering the conditions in the UAE, they don’t stand a chance in the T20 World Cup. You cannot deny their capability. But looking at their current form, apart from two-three batters, the others are playing spin as if it’s an out-of-syllabus question,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Many Australian players have featured in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which is also taking place in the UAE, but the 37-year-old believes it will have little impact on the Aussies' performance, with the exception of their fast bowler Josh Hazlewood who has recently performed well.
“Even after playing IPL, they are not able to figure out how to tackle spinners. I was observing Marcus Stoinis in the IPL, and he was not impressive at all. I don’t think Australia will be a threat. Yes, their fast bowlers can dent teams, otherwise, the Asian teams will have to play very badly to lose to them,” the 37-year-old added.
Australia are in Group 1, which is considered as the "death group" because it includes teams like West Indies, England, and South Africa. On October 23, Australia will face the Proteas in Abu Dhabi to begin their T20 World Cup campaign.
