Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has hit back at English media and former players over their criticism of Pakistan’s Test team following its crushing defeat to England at Headingley.

Speaking during an interview, Salman Butt responded to comments from The Telegraph and former England players who questioned the quality of the Pakistan side.

The Telegraph described Pakistan as fielding its worst team in 50 years, while former England captain Michael Vaughan called them “the weakest team to have ever toured England.”

Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad also criticized Pakistan, describing them as a “poor” side.

“The things being said, the way The Telegraph wrote that this is the worst-ever team in the last 50 years and some of their players have also made similar statements,” Butt said.

Butt argued that Pakistan had never claimed to have a world-class team and questioned why outsiders were making such strong statements about the players.

“The point is, we never said that we are world champions. We never said that we are a great team, nor did we make any big claims about ourselves. But we did say one thing… what do you people think? Our team may be whatever it is, even it is the worst ever, but it is still our team,” he said.

Butt then turned his attention to the makeup of England’s squad, arguing that Pakistan’s team represents its own cricket system.

“It is not a Commonwealth team. It is not a team where the captain is from Ireland, the wicketkeeper is from South Africa, the middle-order batsman is from South Africa, one player is from Scotland, another is from Australia, and someone else is from the West Indies Under-19 team who has been picked and placed here,” Butt said.

“This is our team. It is not a team made up of players from here and there. If there is any doubt about that, go and check it.”

The former Pakistan captain also stressed that teams can go through difficult periods and that poor performances do not permanently define a side.

“This is not some team made up of six different countries coming together to play. Teams go through phases. Sometimes teams don’t perform well,” he added.

Butt’s comments came after Pakistan suffered a heavy defeat in the opening Test at Headingley, losing to England by an innings and 103 runs.

The victory gave England a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Stuart Broad, however, has since stood by his assessment of Pakistan and insisted that his opinion has not changed despite receiving criticism from Pakistani fans.

Speaking on a recent podcast alongside former England captain Jos Buttler, Broad again backed England to complete a clean sweep in the series.

“I don’t know what we can really know about this team, but, as I said on the last podcast, I got a little bit of stick from some Pakistan fans. Pakistan are a poor side and England should win this series 3-0. If they don’t, it would be an absolute disaster,” Broad said.

“I haven’t changed my opinion on that at all. England should win this Test series 3-0, they’ve simply got a stronger side.”

Broad also argued that the current Pakistan team lacks the pace and flair that previous sides were known for.

He did, however, praise Mohammad Abbas, describing him as Pakistan’s best bowler and saying he could get into most Test teams in the world.

Broad was less impressed by the rest of Pakistan’s pace attack, saying Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad did not pose the same level of threat.

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