‘Kya New Zealand ko Pakistan se beheter opposition mili?’ – Ex-PAK skipper shuts down journalist with a savage reply

Team India clinched the T20I series against New Zealand with a clinical performance on Wednesday. The Men in Blue set a mammoth target of 235 runs for the visitors, riding on Shubman Gill’s record-breaking innings of 126 off 63. In reply, New Zealand batters could only manage 66 runs as the Indian bowling attack cleaned them up inside 13 overs. Before the T20Is, the Kiwis also faced a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of the hosts in the ODIs.

Interestingly, this New Zealand side travelled to India with momentum on their side. They had just defeated Babar Azam’s Pakistan side 2-1 in the preceding ODI series. This has, of course, sprung comparison between the two teams from the sub-continent. The Pakistan Sports Media quickly gathered opinions from acclaimed personalities of the Pakistan Cricketing scene.

India were ‘assured and clear’: Salman Butt

Although one of New Zealand’s most accomplished cricketers, Kane Williamson, was not part of the visiting party, Pakistan’s ex-skipper, Salman Butt, believes that the Black Caps faced a much trickier opposition in India.

The journalist asked Butt, ‘Pakistan se ye New Zealand ki team kaabu nahi aa rahi thi, but India me jaakar inko nakaami ka saamna karna pada. Kya New Zealand ko Pakistan se beheter opposition mili? (Pakistan couldn’t beat New Zealand at home, but the Kiwis lost to India. Did they find a better opposition there?).” In turn, the former Pakistan skipper stated that India were ‘assured and clear’ in their approach.

“New Zealand got an opposition that is assured and clear in its thinking. Their pool of players is big, and they have exposure in international cricket, whether it be the ‘A’ team or first-class cricket. In every game, they have got more exposure,” said Butt on his official YouTube channel.

The 38-year-old further stated that Babar’s men took hasty decisions that led to their downfall in the home season. He said, “The way Pakistan played their home season, there was no clarity of thought. You could see the fear in their decisions. When you play with the fear of failure, you will never get the desired results, and Pakistan’s home season is proof of that. There was fear, and all the decisions were made solely in fear.”

“Here, they were clear about who will play and at what number they will play. It was just another level of clarity in India. England play so aggressively, there was no confusion there,” he further remarked.