Tag: Shan Masood

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has opened up about the strategy of his side in the red-ball cricket going forward.

Shan Masood-led side is scheduled to play a two-match Test series against Bangladesh, as part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-2025.

Currently, Pakistan are ranked fifth in the WTC points table. They are set to play nine Test matches in the current cycle.

The series against Bangladesh will be followed by three home Tests against England. Pakistan will then visit South Africa for two matches before returning home to play two games against West Indies.

Shan Masood, while addressing a news conference, shared that his side is aiming to play with positive intent to win matches, which will help them improve their standing in the WTC.

“If we need to compete in the World Test Championship, we need to secure victories, which requires showing intent and positivity in every aspect of the game, whether it’s batting, bowling, or fielding,” Masood said.

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“Our focus will be on achieving the best results for Pakistan. We need to win a significant number of the nine upcoming Test matches,” he added.

The captain also highlighted the advantages that work in his team’s favour as they prepare for a packed Test schedule. Despite changes in management, the core players remain the same, which contributes to team stability.

Additionally, he emphasized that Pakistan will have the home advantage in seven out of nine games, which is a significant positive for the team.

“There have been changes in the management, however, the squad is almost the same,” Shan stated. “We have worked on changing the mindset to play according to the situation.”

“The positive thing is that we are playing at home and our players will be familiar with the conditions. We need to take advantage of it, but the key will be to handle mental and physical pressure,” he concluded.

The first Test of the two-match series between Pakistan and Bangladesh is scheduled to be played from 21 to 25 August in Rawalpindi, while the second match will be played from August 30 to September 3 in Karachi.

Pakistan squad for Test series against Bangladesh

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal (subject to Fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper) and Shaheen Shah Afridi

READ: Match officials for Pakistan Shaheens-Bangladesh A series announced

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood extended his heartfelt congratulations and support to Arshad Nadeem as he prepares Paris Olympics Javelin Throw Final.

Arshad Nadeem, who secured his place in the final with a remarkable 86.59m throw in Tuesday’s qualifier round at Stade de France, has captured the hearts of millions, and his performance has ignited hope for an Olympic medal for Pakistan.

In a statement released by the former Pakistan Super League (PSL) champions Karachi Kings, their skipper Shan Masood praised Arshad Nadeem’s achievements and expressed his confidence in the javelin thrower’s ability to shine on the world stage.

“Congratulations on qualifying for the final, Arshad Nadeem. You are a role model for the entire country. All the best for the final round! Backing you to raise the Pakistan flag high on the podium on 8th August,” said Masood.

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Arshad’s season-best throw of 86.59m, achieved in his first and only attempt during the qualifier, has positioned him as a strong contender for the medal, ranking fourth heading into tonight’s finals.

His consistent performance throughout the season and his composure in high-pressure situations have made him a beacon of inspiration for aspiring athletes across the nation.

The final, scheduled to take place tonight at 11:25 PM Pakistan time, is set to be a thrilling event, with the hopes of the entire nation resting on Arshad’s shoulders. Fans from all over Pakistan and beyond are eagerly waiting to see him in action, hoping for a moment of glory that will be remembered for years to come.

As the anticipation builds, Karachi Kings, along with the rest of the country, stand united in support of Arshad Nadeem. We wish him the very best as he takes on this monumental challenge and strives to bring home an Olympic medal.

READ: Junaid Khan terms India’s bowling “zero” without Jasprit Bumrah

Pakistan all-rounder Aamer Jamal drew a comparison between the captaincy styles of Babar Azam and Shan Masood.

Jamal, in an interview with a local news outlet, was asked to share his take on the captaincy of Babar and Shan.

In response to the question, the all-rounder, who made his T20I and Test debut under Babar Azam and Shan Masood’s leadership respectively, stated that both the captains have different mindsets and approach the game differently.

He claimed to have a good bond with both of them before explaining that Babar’s style of captaincy is a bit defensive while Shan is someone who thinks aggressively.

“When it comes to captaincy, both have their own different mindsets. Shan Bhai’s approach is different, and Bobby Bhai’s approach is different. I have very good terms with both of them,” said Jamal.

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“I have had good terms with Shan Bhai since the time I played first-class cricket. When I joined the Pakistan team for practice bowling, he treated me very well.

“Both have different mindsets. I believe Bobby Bhai is a bit defensive. He thinks about securing the team first. Shani Bhai is a bit aggressive as he belives if somebody throws punch, you should too.

“As captains, both of them understand you and ask about your needs and what you require,” he concluded.

Remember, Aamer Jamal has been recovering from a back injury he sustained in the ongoing County cricket season.

Jamal joined Warwickshire after a sensational Test debut on Pakistan’s tour to Australia where he picked up 18 wickets in three matches.

However, the Pakistan all-rounder could only represent Warwickshire in two County Championship matches and one Vitality Blast fixture.

He was last seen in action for the side on June 8 and has been sidelined since then as he suffered a back injury.

READ: Jason Gillespie rates Pakistan Shaheens’ performance in red-ball series

Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt threw his weight behind Test captain Shan Masood to lead the side in all formats.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt stressed the need for a strategic approach while criticising the current leadership before going on to back Shan Masood for the all-format captaincy of the national team.

“There is some fuss because of which despite having skill, players haven’t been able to execute. There is someone who doesn’t have any strategy for planning but still has a lot of attitude. To silence that attitude, I would definitely make Shan Masood the captain,” Butt said.

For the unversed, Masood was given the reigns of the Test team after Pakistan’s dismal campaign at the ICC Men’s World Cup 2023 which led to Babar Azam stepping down as the all-format captain.

He has thus far led the side in a three-match away Test series against Australia, which concluded in January this year.

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The Green Shirts suffered a 3-0 whitewash against the dominant hosts but Masood’s captaincy was lauded.

It is worth mentioning that Pakistan are set to embark on a busy home international season with a two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

The Test series will commence on August 21 in Rawalpindi before concluding on September 3 in Karachi.

Pakistan will host England for three Tests in Multan (7-11 October), Karachi (15-19 October) and Rawalpindi (24-28 October), and the West Indies will visit for two Tests in Karachi (16-20 January) and Multan (24-28 January).

Additionally, Pakistan will host an ODI tri-series, featuring New Zealand and South Africa, scheduled in Multan from 8-14 February.

Bangladesh last played a Test in Pakistan in February 2020, while England swept the three-Test series in December 2022. The 2025 series will also mark the West Indies’ first Test tour to Pakistan since November 2006 when Brian Lara captained the side against Inzamam-ul-Haq men.

READ: Shan Masood dodges hit-wicket, run-out in T20 Blast

LEEDS: Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood, in a bizarre turn of events, survived a hit-wicket and a run-out on the same delivery during a T20 Blast match between Yorkshire Vikings and Lancashire Lightning at Headingley here on Thursday.

Masood, who is also the captain of Yorkshire, played a swashbuckling innings of 61 runs from 41 deliveries to help his side post 173/8 while batting first.

The aforementioned incident occurred on the first ball of the 15th over, bowled by Jack Blatherwick when Masood was playing on 58. The left-hander stepped on his own stumps off a no-ball and was run out on the other end whilst in mid-pitch seemingly waiting for a dead-ball call.

Shan Masood steps on his stumps off a no ball, Lancashire take the bails off at the other end – but Masood remained not out under law 31.7 pic.twitter.com/yQG6gP6Rac

— Vitality Blast (@VitalityBlast) June 20, 2024

However, on-field umpires James Middlebrook and Graham Lloyd ruled him not out under Law 31.7, which addresses a “batter leaving the wicket under a misapprehension”.

The law states, “An umpire shall intervene if satisfied that a batter, not having been given out, has left the wicket under a misapprehension of being out. The umpire intervening shall call and signal Dead ball to prevent any further action by the fielding side and shall recall the batter.”

Shan Masood was ultimately dismissed in the next over after adding three more runs to his tally as he got caught behind off Saqib Mahmood.

He struck eight boundaries, including three sixes during his 61-run knock, which earned him the man of the match award after his side registered a narrow seven-run victory.

READ: Mohammad Hafeez reveals players’ shocking behaviour during his tenure

Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood recently shared his thoughts on Babar Azam replacing Shaheen Afridi as T20I captain.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Sunday reinstated Babar Azam as the white-ball captain of the national team ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024, scheduled to be played in the West Indies and the United States of America (USA).

PCB officially announced Babar Azam’s appointment as captain on their social media accounts.

“Babar Azam appointed as white-ball captain. Following unanimous recommendation from the PCB’s selection committee, Chairman PCB Mohsin Naqvi has appointed Babar Azam as white-ball (ODI and T20I) captain of the Pakistan men’s cricket team,” the PCB posted.

Shan Masood believes that the new management took the decision with a plan involving the workload management of Shaheen Afridi.

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“There’s a new set-up that’s come in, a new selection committee, and you always have a plan,” stated Masood.

“And they saw a certain plan and we saw through the explanation that they probably want Shaheen Afridi to be rested as well. Because we lost Naseem Shah last year just before the World Cup which proved to be very costly to Pakistan,” he added.

The left-handed batter also emphasized the need for team unity despite the changes in leadership.

“I think for us as players we’ve got a common goal of making sure the Pakistan team does well. Whoever is leading it, everyone is behind them and ready to put in a good shift for them,” he added.

Babar Azam’s first assignment during his second tenure will be a five-match home T20I series against New Zealand, commencing on April 18 in Rawalpindi.

READ: Australia’s Claire Polosak to officiate in Pakistan vs West Indies Women series

Test captain Shan Masood expressed his desire to play a Test match against India, stating it would be an honour for him to lead Pakistan against arch-rivals.

Pakistan and India have not played a Test since 2007/08 and a bilateral series in any format since 2012/13 due to the long-standing political tensions between the two neighbouring countries.

The fierce rivals, however, only came face to face in multi-national events like Asia Cup and ICC World Cups.

They last met in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2024 at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium, which witnessed a mammoth audience of around 130,000 while their T20 World Cup 2022 tie saw around 94,000 spectators filling the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

“My greatest memory has been playing India in the 2022 T20 World Cup at the MCG – it was around 94,000 people and that was surreal,” stated Shan in an interview with Wisden Cricket Monthly.

“If we have a Test match in Pakistan or in India, even the Ahmedabad ground, or we play in Pakistan or in a neutral venue, I reckon an India v Pakistan match could sell out any venue in the world. It’d be great.

“You want to play the best teams in the world and India is certainly one of the best, especially when it comes to Test cricket. We just saw a very exciting India versus England series. I would love for that (India v Pakistan) to happen. It’d be a great honour to lead Pakistan against India.”

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Notably, India made it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final in both editions but Pakistan could not and thus the cricket fans’ crave to witness a Test match between the two arch-rivals after a gap of almost 16 years, remained standstill.

But Pakistan captain Shan Masood is banking on the possibility of a Pakistan-India WTC Final, stating “there’s always a case”.

“At the moment it doesn’t look likely, but you never know. There’s always a case for a World Test Championship final. That would be great,” Shan added.

“But we have some work to do. We need to win probably all of our home series and get some points away but we’re still in a decent position.

“We have to take it series by series. There’s eight months to go before our next Test match so there’s still some thinking to do in terms of how we want to approach that.”

READ: Babar Azam reinstated as Pakistan’s white-ball captain

KARACHI: Shan Masood, the captain of Karachi Kings, expressed satisfaction over his team’s performance in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9.

During the press conference after a thrilling match against Peshawar Zalmi, Masood stated that Karachi Kings played good cricket throughout the tournament.

“I am satisfied with the performance of Karachi Kings in this season. We lost two close games, which we could have won if we avoided small mistakes. But this is part of the game,” said the left-handed batter.

“Our team was hit with an unfortunate situation with 13 of our players falling ill in the middle of the tournament. It dented our plans as we had to make changes to our combination.

“Meanwhile, we also had to rely on other results, but they did not go in our favour.”

Talking about his own performance, Shan Masood expressed disappointment over his batting performance.

“I admit that I could not perform at my best this season. I have given performances in previous seasons of PSL and wanted to replicate them in this season, but unfortunately, it did not happen,” he remarked.

Karachi Kings lost their last group match against Peshawar Zalmi by a narrow two-run margin after a thrilling last over.

“The wicket was tricky and we made some small mistakes, while Peshawar Zalmi bowled well, resulting in their victory,” said Karachi Kings’ captain.

Masood also appreciated young spinner Arafat Minhas for his impressive performance against Peshawar Zalmi. Arafat claimed one wicket for 11 runs in his four overs.

“Arafat [Minhas] performed brilliantly, taking full advantage of the conditions. He came into the squad this year along with 6 other players who have never played in the PSL before.

“We gave chances to the youngsters according to the situation and made sure that they get the right mentorship from the senior players.”

READ: Irfan’s blitz in vain as Peshawar Zalmi edge Karachi Kings in last-ball thriller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

RAWALPINDI: Karachi Kings’ fast bowler Mir Hamza has opened up about the reason for his team’s narrow loss against Islamabad United in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9.

During the post-match press conference, Hamza expressed that Karachi Kings could have won the match against Islamabad United if they had some more runs on the board.

“I think we were 10-15 runs short, otherwise, the result would have been different as batters would have been under pressure while chasing,” he added.

He also shed light on the pitch conditions of the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which is behaving differently than last year.

“Pindi pitch is behaving differently this time. We expected high-scoring encounters here like last year, where 200-220 runs were being chased. However, the pitch has moisture and is supportive to bowlers.”

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Hamza also stated that his team is currently focused on winning the next two games and qualifying for the playoffs of PSL 9.

“We are not thinking about other teams at the moment. Our next target is to win our remaining matches,” said the left-arm pacer.

Upon being asked about skipper Shan Masood’s aggressive behaviour on the field, Hamza backed his captain and called it part of the game.

“Aggression is part of the game. In a crucial stage of a must-win game, things can heat up but it is the beauty of cricket. Even I was aggressive in the latter stages of the match today,” Mir Hamza remarked.

“Shan [Masood] is naturally a cool and calm person, but a captain needs to be aggressive on the field.”

Karachi Kings will next face arch-rivals Lahore Qalandars on 9th March.

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Shan Masood, the captain of the Karachi Kings, has expressed hope that the all-rounder Mohammad Nawaz will perform at his level-best in the upcoming matches of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) season 9.

Masood, while talking to the media, stated that Nawaz has yet to perform according to his potential but showed faith in the seasoned all-rounder.

“Mohammad Nawaz has not been able to perform according to his abilities and potential, but he has shown glimpses of his talent,” said Shan Masood.

“We are expecting more from him as an all-rounder, and I am hopeful that he will perform at his best in the upcoming matches,” he added.

Upon being asked about the inclusion of young all-rounder Arafat Minhas, the Karachi Kings captain praised the youngster and stated that he would get a chance according to the situation.

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“Arafat Minhas is a talented player. We select our playing XI according to the conditions and he will get the chance whenever the team need his service.”

The left-handed batter also acknowledged that he could not perform as per the expectations but expressed optimism that he would do better in the upcoming games.

“I am not satisfied with my performance. I am getting good starts but have not been able to capitalize and perform well despite being set at the wicket,” he said.

“But I am positive that I will perform better in the upcoming games and it will be more beneficial for the team.”

Notably, Karachi Kings have won two out of three matches in the PSL 9 and will face Islamabad United today at their home ground in Karachi.

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