Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt feels Novak Djokovic wouldn’t be an active player if he was playing cricket in Pakistan instead of tennis in Serbia.
One of the finest tennis players in history, Novak Djokovic made history on Sunday as he won his 10th Australian Open title, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets. Speaking of Djokovic’s achievement, at the age of 35, on his YouTube channel, former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt made a hilarious comment. Butt highlighted how things would’ve been for Djokovic if he was playing cricket in Pakistan at this age.
“Shukr hai wo tennis khel skta hai. Pakistan mein hota to 30 saal se upar cricket nahi khel skta tha (Good that he plays tennis. If he was in Pakistan he wouldn’t have been able to play cricket after turning 30),” said Butt in a video on his YouTube channel.
“He wouldn’t have been able to play even after scoring three hundreds,” said the presenter who was on the video alongside Butt.
In response, the retired Pakistani cricketer said: “That was our old setup. Don’t know what kind of people were they. Would themselves continue to play even after being 45 or 50 but to others, they would say you can’t play as you are over 30.”
As for Djokovic, the Serb reclaimed top spot in the ATP rankings released on Monday after winning his 22nd Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.
The 35-year-old Serbian rose four places to dislodge Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz, who missed the tournament through injury and dropped to second.
Djokovic’s 10th Australian Open title means he is world number one for the 374th week since July 2011.
Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost to Djokovic in straight sets in Sunday’s final in Melbourne, overtook Norwegian Casper Ruud in third place, matching a career-best ranking he first achieved in August 2021.
