Salman Butt, Pakistan’s opener has been named the vice-captain of the Pakistan side for the tour of England and for Asia Cup. Shahid Afridi will lead the Pakistan side in all the three formats for the first time as they play England in three Tests and two against Australia apart from two Twenty20s against Australia, five ODIs and a Twenty20 against England.
A Pakistan Cricket Board spokesman said, “Butt has been appointed vice captain for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka and for the tour of England,”
Earlier, it was rumoured that there was a good chance that Butt would be appointed the captain of the side after Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan were indefinitely banned. However, once Afridi said that he was ready to play Tests, the mantle fell on Afridi’s shoulders and the Butt was named the vice-captain.
Butt had said, “It would be an honour if he was handed the captaincy, but he wasn’t thinking about it and chose to focus on performing as a batsman in the upcoming tours.”
Both, Pakistan coach Waqar Younis and captain Afridi have said that the selectors should focus on the youth, and try to get them in this series. This will allow them to adopt a rotation policy in their bid to prepare for the World Cup next year, apart from the South African tour to be held in the Middle East.