- Mar 4, 2024
- Sep 24, 2023
Shahid Afridi was in the Pakistan Team when Salman Butt played for his country. During 2007-08, he had a controversial bus fight with the Pakistan legend and that was shared by another Pakistan legend, Shoaib Akhtar.
Speaking about the incident on his YouTube channel, the former Pakistan batter said that Afridi was just a senior to him. He had no friendship with Afridi. He also said that it was Shahid Afridi who restricted his inclusion in the World Cup in 2019.
“He was not a friend but treated me well at times.” – Salman Butt
Salman Butt recently shed light on the same and said that despite having some good exchanges, the duo has some misunderstandings. But, that should not be revealed publicly.
He said: “Every team has at least one such incident to tell. He (Afridi) was my senior. He was not a friend but treated me well at times. We had good exchanges too. But sometimes a bit of misunderstanding happens between two players. These things should not be shared publicly,”.
The same incident got shared by the Pakistan great Shoaib Akhtar in a show named ‘Game On Hai’.
“It so happened that we were returning on the bus from training and I was sitting with Salman Butt upfront. Afridi came inside and asked Butt to vacate the seat to which Talat lost his cool and questioned why Butt should leave his seat,” Akhtar said.
Former Pakistan pacer also added:
“Afridi also exchanged some words with Talat. Later that night, Shoaib Malik told me they had decided to send Afridi back home because of the incident. I then took up the issue with Talat Sahab and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). I think Shahid Afridi has written less in his book about the harsh treatment he received from senior players during his playing days. I witnessed some of it with my own eyes and totally agree with him,”
Speaking about his career, Salman Butt represented Pakistan in 135 International matches where he scored 5209 runs at an average of 33.17. He resumed playing domestic cricket after serving a five-year ban over the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.