Salman Butt (
Punjabi:سلمان بٹ; born 7 October 1984) is a former Pakistani cricketer and captain who played for
Pakistan national cricket team
The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Counc ...
between 2003 and 2010, before getting banned for five years for his involvement in a
2010 spot-fixing scandal. Butt was a member of the Pakistan team that won the
2009 ICC World Twenty20
The 2009 ICC World Twenty20 was the second edition of the Men's T20 World Cup, formerly known as the ICC World Twenty20 that took place in England in June 2009. As before, the tournament featured 12 male teams – nine of the ten Test cricket, ...
.
He had been a regular
Test
Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to:
* Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities
Arts and entertainment
* ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film
* ''Test'' (2014 film) ...
and
ODI left-handed
opening batsman. He made his Test debut on 3 September 2003 in the third Test against
Bangladesh
Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...
, and a year later, made his ODI debut against
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
on 22 September 2004. He was appointed captain of the Pakistan Test squad on 16 July 2010. He was known for his command in offside area.
His noticeable performance was against India, registering 5 ODI centuries in 21 innings with an average of 52.
On 29 August 2010, he was implicated in allegations of
spot-fixing. On 31 August 2010, he was stripped of the Pakistan captaincy, and removed from the ODI squad pending criminal proceedings. He was banned from playing cricket for ten years, of which five years was a suspended sentence. In November 2011, he was convicted and jailed for 30 months for conspiracy charges relating to the spot-fixing, along with
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Amir ( ; born 13 April 1992) is a Pakistani cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team from 2008 to 2024. He plays for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League. He is a left-arm fast bowler and a left-handed ...
and
Mohammad Asif.
On 21 June 2012, he was released from jail.
In August 2015, bans on Butt and fellow conspirators
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Amir ( ; born 13 April 1992) is a Pakistani cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team from 2008 to 2024. He plays for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League. He is a left-arm fast bowler and a left-handed ...
and
Mohammad Asif were lifted by the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
, allowing them to return to all forms of cricket from 2 September 2015.
Early life and education
Butt was born in
Lahore
Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
, into an ethnic
Kashmiri family, to Zulfikar Ali Butt, who runs a farming business, the eldest of three children and grew up in "relative luxury", described by his father as a "practising Muslim who prays five times a day." He is an alumnus of the
Beaconhouse School System.
When Butt's father divorced his mother and left the home he had to bear the financial responsibilities of his sisters' higher education.
His son Aaliyan Suleman is also a cricketer, in 2022 being named in the Central Punjab's Whites Under-16 team.
Cricket career
Early career
Butt started in the Under-17s and quickly progressed through Under-19 level, although at that time he was much younger than the age limits suggest, making his senior debut for Lahore Whites in 2000 aged only 15. His talent was noticed immediately, which led to him being given a place in the Pakistan A team against
England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
soon after. However, instead of rushing straight for the limelight of international cricket, he got his head down and consolidated by playing consistently for his region and the youth teams, until the Pakistan selectors finally drafted him in 2003.
International cricket
After his debut, Butt was dropped, and he struggled to regain his place due to some stiff competition for the openers' spots. He returned for the Champions' Trophy in 2004 and scored his first fifty for Pakistan in the Paktel Cup against
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. In the ODI against India on 13 November 2004, as Pakistan chased down 292, he formed partnerships first with
Shoaib Malik
Shoaib Malik ( Punjabi, (; born 1 February 1982) is a Pakistani cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team and currently plays for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He was the captain of the Pakistan nati ...
, putting on 113, and subsequently with
Inzamam-Ul-Haq
Syed Inzamam-ul-Haq Sitara-e-Imtiaz, SI (; born 3 March 1970), also known as Inzi, is a former Pakistan cricketer and captain of Pakistan national cricket team. He is regarded as one of the greatest players Pakistan has produced and one of the ...
. Despite having retired for seven overs due to severe cramp, he returned to steer Pakistan home, finishing on 108 not out.
Yet 2005 saw little improvement, and doubts circulated about his defensive technique, causing him to be shuffled in and out of the side. But things started looking up again during the winter Test series against England, in which he scored a century and two fifties, with a more cautious attitude to his innings building than he had previously shown.
For his performances in 2008, he was named as 12th man in the World ODI XI by the ICC.
Appointment as Test captain
On 17 July 2010, the
Pakistan Cricket Board
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), formerly known as Board of Control for Cricket in Pakistan (BCCP), is a sports governing body for cricket in Pakistan responsible for controlling and organising all tours and matches undertaken by the Pakistan ...
appointed Butt as captain of the Pakistani Test squad in place of
Shahid Afridi
Sahibzada Mohammad Shahid Khan Afridi (, ; born 1 March 197is a Pakistani former cricketer and captain of the Pakistan national cricket team. An all-rounder, Afridi was a right-handed leg spinner and a right-handed batsman.
Afridi made ...
, who announced his retirement from Test cricket after Pakistan lost the first
test match against Australia.
He became the 28th captain of the Pakistani Test team and the fifth to lead them since January 2009.
On 23 July 2010, Salman Butt led Pakistan to victory against Australia in his first appearance as Pakistan's test team captain.
Spot-fixing scandal
In August 2010, Butt and two other players,
Mohammad Amir
Mohammad Amir ( ; born 13 April 1992) is a Pakistani cricketer who played for the Pakistan national cricket team from 2008 to 2024. He plays for Quetta Gladiators in the Pakistan Super League. He is a left-arm fast bowler and a left-handed ...
and
Mohammad Asif, were among those named by a ''
News of the World
The ''News of the World'' was a weekly national "Tabloid journalism#Red tops, red top" Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published every Sunday in the United Kingdom from 1843 to 2011. It was at one time the world's highest-selling ...
'' sting where undercover reporters paid an agent loosely affiliated with several players on Pakistan's squad a bribe in return for detailed information on when no-balls would be bowled.
Butt, Amir, and Asif were dropped from the Pakistan team for the limited-over series (two Twenty20 games, and five ODI games). However, on 2 September 2010, after the warm-up
List A
List A cricket is a classification of the Limited overs cricket, limited-overs (one-day) form of the sport of cricket, with games lasting up to eight hours. List A cricket includes One Day International (ODI) matches and various domestic competit ...
game between Pakistan and Somerset, the
International Cricket Council
The International Cricket Council (ICC) is the global Sports governing body, governing body of cricket. It was founded as the Imperial Cricket Conference in 1909 by representatives from Australia, England, and South Africa. In 1965, the body wa ...
announced that they had suspended Asif, Amir and Butt under the provisions of the ICC's Anti-Corruption Code. The statement from the ICC stated that the three players were charged "under various offences under Article 2 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code for Players and Player Support Personnel relating to alleged irregular behaviour during, and in relation to, the fourth Test between England and Pakistan at Lord's last month".
Later it became known that Butt and the other two players implicated in the scandal were in possession of bills with the same serial numbers as those the reporter had paid Majeed earlier. Butt was provisionally suspended from playing International Cricket due to the fact that the ICC wanted his name cleared before he resumed playing cricket. In late September, Butt filed an appeal to the ICC asking them to lift his temporary suspension. After Mohammad Asif had dropped his appeal against the charges so that he could understand the charges filed against him, Butt said he was determined to prove his innocence and that his appeal was going to go ahead.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Butt stated "I do not want to comment on ''The News of the World'' because everybody knows what kind of paper it is. Everybody knows about its reputation across the world." He also stated that he was linked to
Mazhar Majeed
Mazhar Majeed (born 1975) is a British sporting agent and runs a Talent Management Agency, Star People which is in the business of managing brands, film and TV personalities and sporting athletes. In 2022, Mazhar Majeed became the manager for two ...
as a player agent but not in any spot-fixing. He also stated that the video can easily be edited and modified and manipulated. One day before the hearing, Butt continued to state his innocence. The tribunal announced that a verdict on the decision had been deferred to 5 February 2011 and that the ICC also stated that the tribunal would rule on charges pertaining to the third Test match between England and Pakistan. Butt was the only player before the tribunal to face these additional charges.
On 5 February 2011, the three-man tribunal delivered its verdict. One charge was dismissed against Butt from the third Test match (batting out a maiden over), but the other charges (failing to report an advance from the third Test match and ordering Asif and Amir to bowl no-balls in the fourth Test) were proved, and Butt was banned from the sport of cricket for ten years, five of which were suspended should he not commit any further offences and participate in a Pakistani Cricket Board anti-corruption program.
Return to domestic cricket
In January 2016, the
PCB allowed Butt to play in the National One Day Cup, in which he played for
WAPDA and scored 536 in 7 matches at an average of 107, ending up one of the leading run-scorers in the tournament. He was the man of the match in the final of the
2016–17 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, scoring a century in both innings. WAPDA won the title.
During the
2017–18 National T20 Cup he jointly with
Kamran Akmal set the world record opening partnership in T20 history of unbeaten 209 runstand, surpassing the previous highest opening partnership of 207 in any form of T20 cricket held by
Joe Denly
Joseph Liam Denly (born 16 March 1986) is an English professional cricketer who plays for Kent County Cricket Club. He is a right-handed batsman and occasional leg break bowler who plays as a top-order batsman. Denly played age group cricket ...
and
Daniel Bell-Drummond. The record runstand was also the third highest partnership in terms of runs for any wicket in T20 history.
In April 2018, he was named in
Sindh
Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...
's squad for the
2018 Pakistan Cup
The 2018 Pakistan Cup was the third edition of the Pakistan Cup, a List A cricket competition which was contested between five teams. It was held from 25 April to 6 May 2018, with all the matches played at the Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad. Feder ...
.
He was the leading run-scorer in the
2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup, with 559 runs in ten matches. He was also the leading run-scorer for Water and Power Development Authority in the
2018–19 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, with 610 runs in ten matches. In March 2019, he was named as the captain of
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (; ; , ; abbr. KP or KPK), formerly known as the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Northern Pakistan, northwestern region of the country, Khyber ...
's squad for the
2019 Pakistan Cup.
In September 2019, he was named in
Central Punjab's squad for the
2019–20 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy tournament. In September 2020, Butt refused to take part in the
2020–21 National T20 Cup, after he was demoted from the team's first XI.
In October 2020, Butt withdrew his name from Quaid-e-Azam Trophy to explore a future in a non-playing role in the game. Reportedly, PCB has offered him a commentator's role for the broadcast of the first-class tournament.
Playing style
An accumulator, Butt works hard for his runs, not indulging in too many big hits; his statistics show the low number of 19 international sixes to date (1 September 2010) of which he's scored 10 in Twenty20 cricket, 7 in One-Day Internationals and only six in Test cricket. He scores a lot of his runs between
backward point and
extra cover. He uses his superb wrist work to angle the bat, placing the ball into gaps using the pace of the ball to his advantage; a very good technique for ODIs where it is best to keep the scoreboard ticking all the time. He also has the ability to cut the ball very fine down to
third man if there are no
slips Slips (or SLIPS) may refer to:
*Slips (oil drilling)
*SLIPS (Slippery Liquid Infused Porous Surfaces)
*SLIPS (Sri Lanka Interbank Payment System)
*Slip (cricket), often used in the plural form
*The Slips, a UK electronic music duo
See also
* ...
, especially against spin bowlers, as he showed to great effect in his above-mentioned innings of 108 not out. These are his specialties, but he has large range of shots. However, many commentators have expressed that his defensive technique has flaws, and that he is prone to playing at balls outside off-stump which should be left.
Umpiring and coaching career
In June 2021, Salman Butt joined the PCB's umpiring and match referee phase 1 course.
In May 2022, he was appointed as a consultant coach of the
Singapore national cricket team
The Singapore national cricket team is the team that represents Singapore in international cricket. Singapore has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) since 1974, and was a founding member of the Asian Cricket C ...
.
See also
*
List of cricketers banned for match fixing
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Salman
1984 births
Living people
Pakistani people of Kashmiri descent
Pakistan One Day International cricketers
Pakistan Test cricketers
Pakistan Twenty20 International cricketers
21st-century Pakistani sportsmen
Lahore cricketers
Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers
Pakistani expatriate cricketers in India
Pakistan Test cricket captains
Pakistani cricketers
Pakistani people imprisoned abroad
Cricketers from Lahore
Lahore Whites cricketers
National Bank of Pakistan cricketers
Lahore Blues cricketers
Lahore Eagles cricketers
Lahore Qalandars cricketers
Punjab (Pakistan) cricketers
Cricketers banned for corruption
Water and Power Development Authority cricketers
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa cricketers
Central Punjab cricketers
Pakistani YouTubers
Pakistani cricket commentators
Pakistani cricket coaches
Match fixers
Beaconhouse School System alumni
Sportspeople involved in betting scandals