Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has broken his silence in the infamous ‘bus fight’ incident that happened in 2008 in Abbottabad. At that time, he was playing for Pakistan and Shahid Afridi had asked him to vacate his seat. Team manager Talat Ali lost his cool at this and had a spat with Afridi. As a result, the former all-rounder was asked to return home.
Remembering the incident, the left-hander has said that every team has such incidents. He added that Afridi was not his friend but treated him well as a senior. The Lahore player maintained that players do have misunderstandings and these things shouldn’t be made public.
“Every team has at least one such incident to tell. He (Afridi) was my senior. He was not a friend but treated me well at times. We had good exchanges too. But sometimes a bit of misunderstanding happens between two players. These things should not be shared publicly,” said Butt on his official YouTube channel.
A few years ago, former speedster Shoaib Akhtar confirmed the incident by revealing that he was sitting with Butt. Afridi came in and asked Butt to leave the seat, after which Talat lost his cool. Akhtar added that he got to know from Shoaib Malik that Afridi was being asked to go home. The former speedster further added that he took the issue with Talat and the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“It so happened that we were returning on the bus from training and I was sitting with Salman Butt upfront. Afridi came inside and asked Butt to vacate the seat to which Talat lost his cool and questioned why Butt should leave his seat,” Akhtar had shared in a TV programme ‘Game On Hai’.
“Afridi also exchanged some words with Talat. Later that night Shoaib Malik told me they had decided to send Afridi back home because of the incident. I then took up the issue with Talat sahab and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB),” he added.
