Pakistan’s Test captain, Shan Masood, has emphasized the importance of unity and consistency within the team. Despite a challenging start to his tenure, Masood believes that the players are committed and deserve more time to prove their worth.
Masood has faced criticism for Pakistan’s recent performances, including a 3-0 series defeat in Australia and a home series loss to Bangladesh. However, he remains confident in the team’s ability to improve.
“I have never seen a lack of unity or effort by the boys,” Masood said. “There are some cricketing aspects to how we need to improve, but I have no complaints regarding unity.”
Masood has also backed Babar Azam, Pakistan’s star batter, to regain his form. “Babar Azam is among the world’s best batters,” Masood said. “You have to give your players time, not just Babar Azam.”
Masood believes that players in the longer formats deserve more opportunities to prove themselves. “We have to give players a consistent chance,” he said. “We want to consistently back our players, and whoever comes in shouldn’t feel their spot is under threat from the first day.”
Masood also defended Abdullah Shafique, who has struggled in recent matches. “When I was out of the team for two years, I averaged over 60 in List A cricket, but Imam [ul-Haq-] and Fakhar [Zaman] were consistently performing,” Masood said. “I didn’t complain that I wasn’t being selected, because I understood the level of competition was high.”
Masood highlighted the impressive form of Mohammad Hasnain in the One-Day Cup. “Hasnain was bowling really well and [was] a personal standout for me,” Masood said. “We should appreciate the skill of fast bowling in Test cricket. It’s the hardest skill and you need to be super fit to execute it.”
Masood emphasized the importance of managing fast bowlers’ workloads to prevent injuries. “Fast bowling exerts a huge amount of stress on the body,” Masood said. “So we’ve set certain standards and protocols so our fast bowlers are the fittest players in our team.”
