10 Interesting facts about Pakistani left hander Salman Butt

10 Interesting facts about Pakistani left hander Salman Butt: Salman Butt’s fall from disgrace was one of the major events which impacted the cricketing world over the past decade. But before that event, Salman Butt was known for a Saeed-Anwarsque batting technique, and had a huge amount of potential within him. Though his ban has been lifted recently, he still has a long way to go before coming back into the international arena.

On Salman Butt’s 31^st birthday, here 10 Interesting facts about Pakistani left hander Salman Butt:

• Birth

Salman Butt was born in Lahore, Punjab on 7^th October 1984.

• First Class Debut

Salman Butt quickly rose through the junior U17 and U19 ranks, and thanks to his prodigious talent, he was given an opportunity to play top flight first class cricket at a young age of 16. He made his first class cricket debut for Lahore Whites in the 2000-01 domestic season.

• International Debut

Salman Butt played his first ever international match, a test match, for Pakistan in the year 2003 against Bangladesh. He had a mediocre debut, scoring 12 and 37 in both the innings.

• Rise to Fame

A Pakistan-India tie always generates an unprecedented amount of attention, and any noteworthy performance there would put one in the spotlight. And that’s exactly what Butt did in an ODI vs India. Chasing a stiff 292, he scored an unbeaten century, battling cramps, to drive Pakistan home. And Salman Butt was immediately put into spotlight.

• Dip in form and work in defensive technique

Post a dream start to career, Salman Butt had a dip in form in 2005. Also, there where chinks in his defensive armor, especially considering it’s importance as opener. Salman Butt worked hard on improving on it following 2005.

• First taste at vice captaincy

Over the coming years, despite not so noteworthy performances, Butt was an integral part of the team. Post Pakistan’s disastrous tour of Australia in 2009, he was relatively unscathed and was given the vice captaincy for the Asia cup.

• Appointment as test captain

Post a loss to Australia in the first match of the series, Shahid Afridi retired from the longer format, and Salman Butt was drafted in as the replacement captain. He was the 28^th captain of the Pakistan team, and led to a series leveling victory in the first match he played.

• Spot fixing controversy

The ultimate blot on Salman Butt’s career was his involvement on the spot fixing controversy which rocked the cricketing world in 2010. He was proved guilty at Southwark Crown Court, England, for conspiracy to accept corrupt payments and conspiracy to cheat. His involvement, along with Mohammad Asif’s and Mohammad Amir’s, ended up being found out by a sting operation by “News of the World” on an agent, Mazhar Majeed. He was banned from playing the sport for 10 years, out of which 5 were depending upon any further offenses. In August 2015, Butt’s ban, along with the other two’s, was removed by ICC. But he is yet to make a comeback to professional cricket.

• Career in numbers

Salman Butt has played in 33 tests, scoring 1889 runs @ 30. He has a top score of 122, which came against England. He has more accomplished numbers in ODIs, having scored 2725 runs in 78 matches @ 36.

• Peformance against India

Despite his above average career, he played his best against India in the shorter format, having scored 5 of his 8 centuries against them. Salman Butt also averages a good 51 in 21 ODI matches he has played against India, well above his career average of 36.