Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has blasted Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief, Ramiz Raja, for his recent remarks on India's premier batter Virat Kohli.
In an interaction with a media outlet, Ramiz Raja was seen taking a dig at the fans of the Pakistan cricket team, and in the process compared them with the supporters of Team India and Virat Kohli.
Speaking about Pakistan's recent losses on the big stage, including the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka, Ramiz Raja claimed that the Pakistani fans were slamming the Men in Green despite their fine performances. On the other hand, the Indian cricket team's admirers were happy to celebrate Virat Kohli's 71st hundred in international cricket and had forgotten their side's early exit from the continental competition.
“Previously we used to falter at the very first hurdle. Yes, we reached the final and yes we did not play well. But it's okay to have a bad day. But there were other teams as well in the Asia Cup,” Ramiz Raja said on Samaa TV.
“I mean then India should then have been severely criticized for not reaching the final. But that is not what their fans and media do. I'll tell you…when Virat Kohli scored a century against Afghanistan, they forgot their entire Asia Cup. Will we ever do that? What we say is that Babar Azam scored a ton, but his strike rate was 135 while David Warner's was 147.3. So this is useless,” Ramiz Raja added.
However, Ramiz Raja's choice of words regarding Virat Kohli was not appreciated by Salman Butt who deemed his comments as unnecessary and in bad taste.
According to Salman Butt, Ramiz Raja shouldn't have spoken about Virat Kohli in such a manner as the Indian cricket star is among the all-time greats of the game.
“There was absolutely no need to take a dig. Aap relevant example bhi nahi de sakte. Vo duniya ka top player, he's only the second (third) man in entire history of cricket jiske 70+ hundred hai. Beherhaal, I don't know.. he is frustrated. Maybe he's got some news, jo baakiyon ko kuch dino baad milegi. Unhone aur bhi kayi baat ki hai jinka koi matlab ya logic nahi tha. Bas satehi baatein ki hain (You can't even give relevant examples. He's only the third man in cricket history with 70+ international tons. He is frustrated. Maybe he has some news that others will get a few days later. He said a lot of others thing that didn't have any logic. It's just superficial talks),” Salman Butt said on his official YouTube channel.
Before his century against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, Virat Kohli had gone more than 1000 days without a three-figure score on the international stage, having scored his last ton against Bangladesh in Kolkata in 2019.
Nonetheless, with his unbeaten 122 in 61 deliveries against Afghanistan, Virat Kohli became just the second man in international cricket to hit 71 centuries, tying Australian great Ricky Ponting who retired with the same number of hundreds.
Though Rohit Sharma and company exited the tournament in the Super 4 stage, Virat Kohli was the highest run-getter for India in the UAE, having made 276 runs in five games, including his maiden hundred in T20Is.
Moreover, what delighted Virat Kohli's fans was the way he scored his runs there. His overall strike rate in the Asia Cup was 147.59, clearly indicating that “King Kohli” was truly back.
Meanwhile, Australian legend Ian Chappell dubbed Virat Kohli as the best Test batter of the current generation, ahead of the likes of Steve Smith, Joe Root, Kane Williamson, and David Warner.
“Kohli is a fine player with a great stroke range, a highly competitive nature, and a thoughtful approach to batting. When asked why he doesn't indulge in typical short-form risky shots, he replied by saying, I don't want them to creep into my Test game. However, whatever the case – the aging process, or his having retired as captain – Kohli's output has started to wane and he needs to rekindle the magic,” Ian Chappell wrote in his column for ESPNcricinfo.
“It's hard to choose the best player from that talented group. And when you consider that some old-timers preferred Victor Trumper's artistic style over the acknowledged best batter, Sir Donald Bradman, the difficulty is not surprising. From among these players on their best days, it's hard to surpass the highly competitive Kohli. His twin centuries in a failed but brave victory attempt at Adelaide Oval in 2014 remain my favorite innings among those produced by this group,” Chappell concluded.
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