Re: New VC announced, Mr Butt.
**PCB appoints Salman Butt as vice-captain **
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday appointed opener Salman Butt as vice-captain to Shoaib Malik till the end of the year.
Butt replaced pacer Mohammad Asif who was deputy for the One-day series in Abu Dhabi against Sri Lanka in April.
Butt’s appointment came after the board’s ad-hoc committee met in Bhurban.
PCB chairman Naseem Ashraf justified the appointment of Butt for the remainder of the year saying it was a move aimed at securing the future of Pakistan cricket.
“We have to start planning for the future. We have lacked in this aspect and have never really prepared replacements. Malik and Butt are both young and compliment each other,” he said.
Ashraf said Butt was picked because he was more focused on the game and had returned to the team with new enthusiasm.
“Everybody believes he has a long future in the national team and is a safe bet to become a permanent opener in Tests and One-Day Internationals.”
The left-handed Butt was dropped last year and made a comeback in the recent Abu Dhabi series where he had scores of 34, 74 and 2.
But he has always been rated very highly by former players, including Javed Miandad.
Butt was chosen by the board especially to fly to Islamabad two years ago when US President George W Bush came to Pakistan and attended a cricket function.
Ashraf said Asif was a team man and had been informed of the decision.
SOURCE: Geo News: Latest News Breaking, Live Videos, World, Entertainment, Royal