After the Men in Blue were hammered by Australia by 4 wickets in a high-scoring T20I encounter on Tuesday (September 20) in Mohali, veteran Pakistan batsman Salman Butt threw a harsh dig at the Indian squad over some of their players' lack of fitness.
The Indian hitters performed an excellent job, scoring 208 runs, but their poor bowling and fielding cost them down, as Australia won to take a 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match T20I series against the Men in Blue on Tuesday.
After the match, the 37-year-old called Australia, England, and South Africa the fittest team while comparing Team India with them and targeted the likes of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul for their fitness.
“Indian players are the highest-paid cricketers in the world. They play the maximum number of matches. You tell me why are they not the fittest? If we compare their body structure, teams like South Africa, Australia, and England are much better,” Salman Butt said on his Youtube channel.
“I would even say some Asian teams are ahead of India. Some Indian players are overweight. I think they need to work on that because they are brilliant cricketers. I don't know if others will talk about this or not, but in my view, Team India's fitness is not ideal. Some experienced players are not at that level where they should be in terms of fielding.
Virat Kohli has set an example for others in fitness. Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya are so fit. They have outstanding fitness, but there are players like Rohit Sharma, even KL Rahul looked lethargic today, you know, Rishabh Pant. If they become fit, they will become more dangerous cricketers,” he continued.
After pacers like Harshal Patel conceded 49 runs in the first T20I against Australia, the former Pakistan captain was also dissatisfied that India was not using their finest bowlers.
“You have Mohammed Siraj, you have Umran Malik. Umesh Yadav also bowled better. The bowlers they are banking on, I don't think they are reliable. Harshal Patel gave away 40. You are a fast bowler, and your strength is a slower one. This is beyond my understanding,” Butt said.
India will face the Australians for the second game of the series in Nagpur on September 23.
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