Singapore Cricket Association appoints Salman Butt as consulting head coach

In a recent announcement, the former Pakistan opening batter and captain Salman Butt has been appointed as the consulting head coach of the Singapore cricket team. Alongside him will be the former Pakistan women's team trainer, Jamal Hussain, who will serve as the fielding coach and trainer of the team. 

Since 1974, Singapore has been an associate member of the International Cricket Council. They last featured in ACC Eastern Region T20 2019/20, where they emerged as the winner with three wins in four league matches. 

According to ESPNcricinfo, the Singapore Cricket Association chief executive officer Saad Janjua has confirmed Butt will be travelling with the team in the following key tournaments - ICC T20 World Cup Qualifiers in Zimbabwe in July, the Asia Cup qualifier in August in Sri Lanka and the ICC Men's Challenge League A in Canada - as the head coach this year. 

This will be Butt's first coaching assignment after an abrupt end to his playing career in 2020. The 37-year-old had served a ban of five years after his match-fixing scandal of 2010. 

Although Butt did return to domestic cricket in 2016, despite doing well, he did not get enough chances. He did feature in a single game for Lahore Qalandars in Pakistan Super League 2019. However, in September 2020, he pulled out of the National T20 cup after being demoted from the First XI team and soon announced his retirement. 

With this new stint, Butt and Hussain will look to help Singapore reach new heights in associate cricket.