You forgot to mention that I haven't been a match fixer: Vaughan gives scathing response to Salman Butt
Michael Vaughan has not taken kindly to Salman Butt's comments about him, where the Pakistani batsman termed the former England captain's take on the Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson comparison 'irrelevant'.
Michael Vaughan has not taken kindly to Salman Butt's comments about him, where the Pakistani batsman termed the former England captain's take on the Virat Kohli vs Kane Williamson comparison 'irrelevant'. In a tweet, Vaughan made sure he informed the world that he had in fact heard what Butt had to say about him and reminded the former opener of his dark past, mentioning Butt's involvement in the 2010 spot-fixing scandal.
In an interview, Vaughan had said that had Williamson been an Indian, he would be called the world's best batsman, directing that Kohli's huge fanbase in India is the reason most believe he alone is the best in the world. Reacting to it, Butt called Vaughan's comments 'irrelevant' and even said that the former England captain likes to say things to stir up debates. He also reminded everyone how in comparison to Kohli's 70 international centuries, Vaughan did not have even one in ODIs and more. Clearly, Vaughan was not impressed with Butt's opinion.
"I've seen what Salman has said about me... that's fine and he is allowed his opinion but I wished he had such a clear thought of mind back in 2010 when he was Match Fixing," Vaughan tweeted.
It wasn't just on Twitter that Vaughan made his displeasure public. The former captain also wrote on his official Facebook Page about it. "You forgot to mention that I haven't been a match fixer' corrupting our great game' either like some...!!!!!!!!," it read.
Butt had said in his YouTube channel: "Who has compared the two? Michael Vaughan. He was a brilliant captain for England, but the beauty at which he used to bat, his output wasn't on par. He was a good Test batsman but Vaughan never scored a single century in ODIs. Now, as an opener, if you haven't scored a century, it's not worth discussion. It's just that he has a knack of saying things that stir up a debate. Besides, people have a lot of time to stretch a topic."
Due to Butt's involvement in the 2010 spot fixing scandal, when he was captain of the Pakistan team, the batsman was not only stripped of captaincy, but was also banned from playing cricket for 10 years, of which five years was a suspended sentence.
In November of 2011, Butt was convicted and even jailed before being released in June of 2012. In August of 2015, the ban was lifted. Since being allowed to return, Butt has been playing in a handful of tournaments in Pakistan, including the Quaid-e-Azam One Day Cup.