Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has voiced strong criticism of emerging batter Sahibzada Farhan, asserting that he is "not international material" in the aftermath of Pakistan's 3-0 T20I series defeat against Australia.
The national team struggled throughout the series, with the batting lineup failing to deliver in challenging Australian conditions. Farhan, making his T20I comeback after nearly 10 months, had a particularly disappointing series, scoring just 22 runs across three matches with a highest score of nine.
Farhan’s inability to handle short-pitched deliveries proved costly, as he was repeatedly dismissed in a similar manner. This drew sharp criticism from Butt, who dissected Farhan's technical flaws on his YouTube channel.
“He was late on the ball. After getting out once or twice, a batter realizes that he’s late on a particular shot, especially here [in Australia], where there is steep bounce and the new ball is coming at pace,” said Butt.
“You either avoid such deliveries or if you can’t avoid them, you take a single towards third man on such short-pitched balls. But if you keep getting out playing the same shot in the same way, it means your shot selection is limited,” he added.
He advised that players facing such deliveries should adjust their approach, either by avoiding risky shots or finding ways to rotate the strike. However, Farhan’s failure to adapt reflected poorly on his shot selection and temperament.
“This shows that not everyone who scores runs in domestic cricket is necessarily an international material,” he concluded.
The Men in Green faced a setback, losing the T20I series 3-0 after their historic triumph in the three-match ODI series 2-1 against Australia, marking their first ODI series win over the Aussies in 22 years.
Pakistan will now shift focus to their upcoming challenge, taking on Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI and T20I series, set to commence on December 1 in Bulawayo.
Pakistan ODI Squad for Zimbabwe tour: Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani and Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan T20I Squad Zimbabwe tour: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah (WK), Jahandad Khan, Mohammad Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufyan Moqim, Tayyab Tahir and Usman Khan
Pakistan to Zimbabwe (three ODIs, three T20Is)