‘Utter rubbish, get a life’ - Salman Butt responds to Simon Doull’s 'personal milestone' remark on Virat Kohli

Former New Zealand cricketer Simon Doull recently came forward to comment on Virat Kohli’s performance against Lucknow Super Giants when Royal Challengers Bangalore took them on in the 15th match of the IPL 2023 at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Doull criticised Kohli over his strike rate, suggesting that he took a bit too long to reach his half-century. "Virat Kohli took 10 balls to reach from 42 to 50. There is absolutely no room for personal milestones in this game anymore. I don't think there's any room for that in this format," Doull said on air.

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has responded to Doull’s comments, defending. "When he was in Pakistan, he had said similar things about Babar Azam, If he had watched the game consciously, he would've noticed that Kohli tried to hit Bishnoi three-four times but he missed. That is part of the game. He has 75 centuries in international cricket," Butt said in his YouTube show.

Virat Kohli doesn't have to prove anything to anyone: Salman Butt

Butt opined that with the level of success that Kohli has had, the 34-year-old had nothing to prove to anyone. He also reflected on the fact that players like Babar Azam, Kane Williamson and Kohli are not known for their slogging but for their ability to score consistently.

"He has achieved so much. He doesn't have to prove anything to anyone. He is not fighting for a place in the RCB team. Is he so much in need to get 50 or show the world that he is good to the world by scoring another fifty? It's rubbish. It's utter rubbish. What is he trying to achieve by speaking like this? He has played cricket, but he was a bowler," Butt said.

"For God's sake, get a life. You can't speak like this about an established player. Be it Kane Williamson, Babar Azam, or Virat Kohli, these guys are not sloggers. They respect the good balls and then make up for it by going for big shots. Their frequency of big scores is just because they don't give away their wickets; they value their wickets highly," he concluded.