India beat Pakistan by seven wickets in Cricket World Cup 2023© AFP
Former Pakistan cricket team skipper Salman Butt expressed his disappointment at the standard of umpiring in the ongoing Cricket World Cup 2023. The dismissals of Steve Smith and Marcus Stoinis during Australia’s match against South Africa led to a massive controversy and later, both David Warner and Jonny Bairstow were not happy with the decisions that went against them. Butt believes that the standard of umpiring was not up to the mark or even close to being “world-class” during the India vs Pakistan match as well with Mohammad Rizwan surviving an LBW appeal thanks to a well-taken review.
“The umpiring hasn’t been up to the mark in the World Cup—very pathetic decision-making. The likes of David Warner and Jonny Bairstow got marginal decisions. During the India-Pakistan game, Mohammad Rizwan was given out; luckily, he took a review, and the decision was overturned. Then, Babar Azam could have been given out in that match, but he survived. There are no world-class umpiring standards.”
Butt was also not pleased with Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur’s comments following the team’s defeat against India. During the post-match press conference, Arthur complained about the lack of support for Pakistan at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad and even went on to say that India vs Pakistan match in the Cricket World Cup 2023 felt like a “BCCI event” rather than an “ICC event”.
Butt said that the comments were “uncalled for” and urged him to motivate the cricketers.
“That was totally uncalled for and unprofessional. It was something that was beyond his control and something he should be the last person to be worried about. His job is to motivate players, irrespective of the circumstances. It won’t have a good effect on the team if he makes such statements,” he concluded.
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