Salman Butt, the former Pakistan batsman has responded to Michael Vaughan's comparison between Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson, calling the former England captain's analysis 'irrelevant' and that he has a habit of saying things that trigger some sort of controversy. In an interview with Spark Sport, Vaughan said that Williamson is on par with Kohli as the world's top batsman but due to his popularity, people are forced to say that the India captain is in fact the world's best.
Vaughan's comments sent waves across social media, with former India batsman Wasim Jaffer taking a funny dig at the ex-England captain. Butt, who played 33 Tests, 78 ODI and 24 T20Is for Pakistan and is believed to have sharp analytical skills, explained that Kohli is the best because he has the record to be called the best.
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"Kohli belongs to a county which has a huge population. Obviously, he would have a bigger fanbase. On top of that, his performance is better too. Virat has 70 international tons at the moment, no other batsman from this era has that many. And he has, for a long period, dominated the batting rankings because his performances have been outstanding. So I don’t understand what and where is the need to draw comparisons," Butt said on his YouTube channel.
Butt took a jibe at the former England batsman, saying how although he was a good captain, Vaughan's batting, especially in ODIs wasn't too special. The former left-handed batsman weighed in on Williamson's greatness, but figures it will always pale in comparison to what Kohli the batsman has achieved and that the kind of consistency with which the India captain has scored runs, hasn't been duplicated by another player of this era.
{{/usCountry}}Butt took a jibe at the former England batsman, saying how although he was a good captain, Vaughan's batting, especially in ODIs wasn't too special. The former left-handed batsman weighed in on Williamson's greatness, but figures it will always pale in comparison to what Kohli the batsman has achieved and that the kind of consistency with which the India captain has scored runs, hasn't been duplicated by another player of this era.
{{/usCountry}}"And 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," Butt added.
"Williamson is great. He's a top-class batsman and the best in the world. There is no doubt. Williamson may take the points in terms of captaincy, but he (Vaughan) hasn't discussed captaincy. In terms of players, there is a huge cap. Kohli's stats and performance and the way he has won India matches, especially chasing, it's outstanding. Since the time both are playing, no one has been as consistent as Kohli. What Vaughan has said is irrelevant."