Karachi: Disgraced former captain Salman Butt has claimed that Shahid Afridi blocked his return to the Pakistan team for the 2016 World T20 despite him serving the five-year ban following the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.
Butt said he was close to being selected for the World T20 in India after he had resumed playing domestic cricket following the completion of his ban in 2015 but Afridi resisted his selection.
“I was called to the NCA by head coach, Waqar Younis and batting coach, Grant Flower and they took me to the nets and checked my fitness,” Butt said to a news channel Tuesday night. “Waqar bhai asked me if I was mentally ready to play for Pakistan again and I said yes very much,” he added.
The 34-year-old said everything was cleared for his comeback to the Pakistan team before Afridi, who was the captain then, stepped in and blocked his return.
“I don’t know what prompted him to do this but no I didn’t go to him or speak about it. I didn’t feel it was right. But what I know is that Waqar and Flower told me I was playing the World Cup and then Afridi resisted,” Butt claimed.
Butt said he didn’t think individual players should be allowed to decide the fate of players returning from bans. The Test opener said he was also close to selection in the Pakistan team in early 2017 when the spot-fixing scandal broke out in the Pakistan Super League.