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Former Pakistan batsman Salman Butt slammed Michael Vaughan for his comparison between Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. Vaughan said that Williamson is at par with Virat in all three formats but doesn’t get the same recognition due to his lesser Instagram followers. Responding to this, Salman Butt said that Virat Kohli’s fanbase is because of India’s huge population. Salman also added that Kohli has displayed complete domination in this era and scored seventy centuries which cannot be compared with anyone else. He also opined that Vaughan has a knack for creating unnecessary controversies.
Salman Butt appreciated Kane Williamson for his performances as a batsman and as the skipper of Kiwis but concluded by saying that Virat Kohli has been more consistent with the bat for India. He termed Michael Vaughan’s comments as 'irrelevant and rubbish'. Kohli is the only batsman in the world who averages more than 50 in all three formats of international cricket and is the only active player with more than 22,000 runs across formats.
"Vaughan never scored a single century in ODIs"
"Kohli belongs to a county that 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," Salman Butt said on his YouTube channel.
"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 for saying things that stir up a debate. Besides, people have a lot of time to stretch a topic," Salman Butt added.
“Williamson is great. He's a top-class batsman and one of 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 gap. 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," signed off Salman Butt.