Salman Butt: “He should learn how to spend time on the wicket. There is a difference between intent and senseless hitting”

Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has slammed big-hitting batsman Mohammad Haris, saying he should avoid “senseless hitting” and learn how to spend time at the crease.

Haris was once a go-to batsman in the national team, but inconsistent scores led to him getting dropped.

As a result, the 23-year-old has not represented his country since September 2023.

Lately, he has been involved in domestic cricket and did well in the Champions T20 Cup as he accumulated 269 runs in nine matches for the Stallions, which included three fifties, at an average of 33.62 and a strike-rate of 151.97.

The Peshawar native then played for Durbar Rajshahi in the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and made 168 runs in 10 games at an average of 16.80 and a strike-rate of 138.84.

Salman pointed out that Haris needs to learn there is difference between showing intent and simply trying to hit every ball.

“He should learn how to spend time on the wicket. There is a difference between intent and senseless hitting,” he was quoted as saying on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Haris was not picked for Pakistan’s recent tours of Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa.

He also missed the two-Test series against the West Indies, which concluded as a 1-1 draw.

Pakistan are now taking on New Zealand and South Africa in an ODI tri-series, after which they will feature in the 2025 Champions Trophy, which will be played from February 19 to March 9.

Pakistan Squad for 2025 Champions Trophy: Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Faheem Ashraf, Khushdil Shah, Salman Ali Agha, Usman Khan, Abrar Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah

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