Demoted Salman Butt refuses to play for second division squad

Pakistan's former captain Salman Butt has refused to play in the upcoming National T20 Championship after being told he had been demoted to the division two Central Punjab squad.

The player, tainted by the 2010 spot-fixing scandal, lost his cool when the newly appointed Central Punjab head coach, Shahid Anwar, told Butt he should lead the division two side in the national T20 championship as there was no place for him in the division one team.

"Salman asked Shahid Anwar the logic behind this, especially when the top three batsmen of Central Punjab division one team, Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad and Babar Azam, were not available due to various reasons.

"Salman also reminded Anwar that he had been the top three scorers of the national T20 tournament for the last three seasons and his team had twice appeared in the final while once also winning it," a source, aware of the developments, said.

Umar, Salman, Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Babar and the uncapped Imran Butt were the leading run-scorers for Central Punjab last season in domestic cricket with the team also winning the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy.

Umar is presently serving a suspension, Shehzad is injured while Babar has been permitted by the board to remain in England to play the T20 Blast for Somerset.