If an inferior batsman in Hafeez at one point was able to average in excess of 50 in UAE (prior to his decline) then there is no doubt a more complete batsman in Salman Butt would have at the very least matched his numbers. But overall mentally and technically he was in a good place and you can easily see from his captaincy that he also had an intelligent cricket, which is what makes it even more sad when he decided to throw his career away because he was not only a good batsman but also a good captain in the making. In tests he was on his way to becoming a world class LOI batsman and a solid 42-45 average test bat with runs in all conditons unlike his replacement Hafeez.