Abdul Qadir backs Salman Butt as Pak vice-captain for all formats of game

Former Pakistan chief cricket selector Abdul Qadir has backed left-hand opener Salman Butt to be Shahid Afridi’s deputy in all three formats of the game.

“Since he (Salman) has shown consistency and established himself as a matured player in the recent past, he should be made vice captain of the team,” The Dawn quoted Qadir, as saying.

“Salman was the best choice to captain the team in Tests in the absence of Shahid Afridi. But as he (Afridi) will lead the national side now, Salman should be given the opportunity to act as his deputy, not only in Tests but also in ODIs and T20s”, he added.

Qadir said the Pakistan team management should appoint Salman as the vice-captain of the national squad, which would enable it to prepare a better future leader, and added that apart from his cricketing skills there are various reasons which go in his favour.

 “He is quite young and hence would play a lot of cricket. We need to prepare a leadership for future and Salman is the most suitable person for that. Moreover, he is also good at English language,” the former leg-spinner said.

However, sources close to the team said that Afridi wants former skipper Younis Khan to be his deputy during the forthcoming Asia Cup and the tough ‘home’ Test series against England later this summer.

“Afridi believes that Younis will be a key player for Pakistan. He sees him as a trustworthy senior, who can support him (Afridi) in his quest to put the Pakistan team on the right track,” well-informed sources said.