‘Such A Defeat…’: Ex-Pakistan Captain Raises ‘Confidence’ Point As West Indies Stun India

After India’s shock 3-2 loss to West Indies in the T20I series, former Pakistan capatain Salman Butt said that such a defeat will surely dent the confidence of the Hardik Pandya-led side. Brandon King’s superb unbeaten 85-run knock helped the Caribbean team to register an eight-wicket win over India in the series-deciding fifth T20I in Lauderhill, Florida on Sunday. The Rovman Powell-led side won the first two matches before India bounced back to level the score. In the final game, Windies dominated India and registered a comfortable victory.

« It doesn’t matter what the format is or who the opposition is. Winning does boost the side’s confidence for their next assignment. (Similarly) a defeat surely dents confidence, » Butt said in a show on his YouTube channel.

« For any team, such a defeat surely dents confidence, » he added.

It is worth noting that India rested veteran players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami for the T20I series against West Indies. A new batch included some debutants in Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar.

Butt was critical of the young Indian team — that also had the likes of star players in Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Sanju Samson and Suryakumar Yadav — after its series loss to Windies.

« Many would say that it was a T20I series, and several of India’s top players were missing. But at the same time, this is India’s normal practice. It wasn’t the first time that a young side was picked. It also wasn’t that West Indies are a very big team, and it was very difficult for India to beat them, » Butt added.