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'England don't want series to be 2-2 or earn WTC points, they only care about insurance money': Salman Butt
“They(England) only want the insurance claim, and haven't even talked about the match,” said Salman Butt reacting on the India vs England cancelled fifth Test.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt said England are more worried about their financial losses due to cancellation of the fifth Test against India rather than ruing the chance of squaring the series or earning WTC points. With India leading the series 2-1, the fifth and final Test at Old Trafford in Manchester was cancelled two hours before its toss due to Covid-19 fears in the India camp. Ever since, ECB and BCCI have been in talks to figure out the rescheduling of the Test match.
“I feel they (ECB) are more worried about the £40m loss. They only want the insurance claim, and haven't even talked about the match [in the request],” Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Butt's comments came after both the Indian and England cricket boards were unable to determine the result of the series. While ECB CEO Tom Harrison wanted ICC intervention, saying that BCCI's proposed rescheduled Test next year might be treated as a one-off Test, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly on Monday said, if the the cancelled Test does take place in India's next tour to England in 2022, then it will be the fifth Test of this series and not a standalone affair.
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"We want the series to be completed as this will be our first series win (in England) since 2007," Ganguly told PTI. “Just that the Test match that will be played later will be the fifth match of the series,” he added.
Butt further talked about how ECB's request to ICC had little to do with the WTC points or result of the fifth Test but more related to their financial losses.
"They (ECB) have only said that if you (the ICC) write this (that the match was forfeited), we'll recover the money from insurance. They aren't saying something like, 'For the sake of God, please play the match, the points are very important, we don't want to lose the series but equalize it at 2-2'. They haven't written anything like it," Butt added.
The former Pakistan opener said it is not easy for even the ICC to come up with a solution.
"It's unresolved, which is why it's being described as a 'dispute', and if it was resolved, England would not have written to the ICC... If England had accepted BCCI's offers for T20s or Tests, they wouldn't have gone towards the dispute committee. Indian players also had their concerns when their physio tested positive... It's not straightforward and we'll have to see how ICC resolves this," Butt said.
