‘LED Lights Are Fine’- Salman Butt Blames Rachin Ravindra For His Misjudgment And Resultant Injury

Salman Butt, a former Pakistan cricketer, has spoken out in support of the PCB in the wake of Rachin Ravindra's incident. He said it was the fault of the New Zealand player, whose leg slipped and the ball struck him.

Rachin Ravindra of the New Zealand Team suffered a career-threatening blow to the face during the first game of the tri-series against the Pakistan Team. The match was played on Saturday (8 February) in Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium.

Rachin suffered a serious injury

During the game, Rachin Ravindra was smacked in the face while attempting to catch the ball. The Kiwi player failed to see the ball, which struck him squarely in the head, resulting in severe bleeding. He had to leave the pitch and was ruled out of the following game against the South African National Cricket Team.

As Rachin Ravindra was hit, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) came under intense scrutiny. This was because many people believed that the stadium's weak floodlights were to blame for the New Zealand batter's inability to see the ball and sustaining serious injuries.

Rachin Ravindra slipped and resulted in ball hitting his head: Salman Butt

Salman Butt, on the other hand, slammed the critics, challenging them about the floodlights while New Zealand batters were hammering sixes on balls at speeds approaching 150 kph. He pointed out that Rachin Ravindra slipped, and so the ball struck him.

"There's no point trying to make people understand when they don't want to. It's irrelevant. These are some of the latest LED lights that have been installed, so these are fine. When New Zealand players hit sixes off deliveries bowled at close to 150 kph, were the lights not working then?

"A player who was standing 70 meters away failed to take the catch because of his misjudgment. He is a fine fielder, but perhaps his leg slipped, and he got hurt,” Butt said on a Pakistan TV channel.

Butt slams Ravindra

Another Pakistani newscaster agreed with Salman Butt, claiming that it is a people's story designed to tarnish Pakistan's image. He described how the lights issue occurred during India's second ODI against England.

"Like some of the prior campaigns that stated Pakistan cannot host a tournament as big as the Champions Trophy because the stadiums are not ready, I want to ask the same people, 'What do you have to say about what happened in Barabati Stadium? That is an established stadium.' So, I want to say that these things happen. These are not big issues. Just because Rachin was hit in the face doesn't mean that PCB is to be blamed for it,” Butt concluded.

Ravindra didn't play in New Zealand's match against South Africa on Monday, and it remains to be seen if he plays in the tri-series final on Friday.

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