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Young opener Salman Butt was on Sunday named as Pakistan’s new vice-captain following a meeting of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) ad-hoc committee in Bhurban.

Butt, 22, replaced medium pacer Mohammad Asif, who was appointed as the national team’s vice-captain for the three-match One-day International (ODI) series against Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi last month.

Asif, who missed the World Cup because of fitness and doping-related problems, was just appointed for the Abu Dhabi series and after reviewing his performance as Shoaib Malik’s deputy, the PCB decided to replace him with Butt.

A stylish left-hander, Butt was once touted as a future Pakistan captain but fell out of favour with PCB officials and the team management and was not considered for the World Cup.

However, following a shake-up in the national cricket setup in the aftermath of Pakistan’s embarrassing World Cup exit, Butt made a comeback in the side and did well in Pakistan’s 2-1 series triumph over Sri Lanka last month. A PCB spokesman said that Butt has been appointed for Pakistan’s next three international assignments.

The Lahore-born batsman has played 14 Tests and has scored 777 runs at an average of 29.88 with the help of two centuries. He has also scored 1072 runs from 36 one-dayers at 30.62 with three tons.

Butt’s first outing as the team’s vice-captain would be an ODI against Scotland in Glasgow on July 1, a game that would be followed by a one-dayer against India at the same venue.