Salman Butt: “Usman Khan burned all the bridges [by opting to play for Pakistan] so I think he got the reward for that”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt believes batsman Usman Khan was rewarded with a call-up to the national team after he burned all his bridges.
Usman switched his allegiance from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Pakistan after dominating in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL).
In PSL 9, the 29-year-old was the second-highest run-scorer with 430 runs in seven matches for the Multan Sultans, which included two centuries and two fifties, at an average of 107.50 and a strike-rate of 164.12.
He was subsequently added to the Pakistan team and made his international debut in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, where he accumulated 59 runs at an average of 14.75 and a strike-rate of 122.91.
Usman did not feature in the three-match T20I series against Ireland, but did play one T20I against England, in which he scored 38 runs.
“Usman Khan burned all the bridges [by opting to play for Pakistan] so I think he got the reward for that,” Salman said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Geo Super.
Pakistan will now take part in the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is being played in the West Indies and United States of America.
The men in green’s first T20 World Cup game will be against the United States of America in Dallas on June 6.
Pakistan Squad for 2024 T20 World Cup: Babar Azam (capt), Saim Ayub, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Fakhar Zaman, Azam Khan (wk), Usman Khan, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Amir, Abbas Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf, Abrar Ahmed