‘I am not worried for my job security’ – Shan Masood not concerned about potentially losing captaincy after Bangladesh drubbing

Shan Masood. (Source – Twitter/X)

There was considerable outcry in the media with quite a few former cricketers as well as pundits criticizing the manner in which Pakistan played during their two-match Test series against Bangladesh eventually losing by a 0-2 margin. Them losing the second game by a six-wicket margin in Rawalpindi only extended their winless streak to 10 Tests at home.

With only 105 runs in four innings, it was quite an underwhelming display by the skipper of Pakistan, Shan Masood, as well.

Masood, who is yet to get underway in terms of his wins in the longest format, expressed that the last thing on his mind was his captaincy and how long it would go on for, underscoring the bigger picture he was targeting on achieving.

“I am not worried for my job security. I took this job to make the changes we believe will help this team. If I believe this team can go in a certain direction, even if my personal failure takes Pakistan in that direction, I will be content. However much time I get, I’ll be grateful for and do my best,” stated Masood, as quoted by India Today.

Masood also emphasized the importance of gaining more exposure to Test cricket, something which has been lacking in the Pakistani setup, especially at the domestic level, since a long time. He also highlighted the massive discrepancy in terms of the amount of experience between the two sides by taking a few examples from the Bangladeshi team to prove his point.

Also Read: ‘He was not angry’ – Shan Masood clears air around Shaheen Afridi’s ‘shoulder shrug’ incident

“Bangladesh have two players who have played 70-90 Tests (Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahman), and Litton [Das] and Mehidy [Hasan Miraz] have played close to 40. We need the same level of red-ball exposure. Test cricket is the ultimate format of the game. You need experience. It’s obvious we need more Test and red-ball cricket.

“Whatever format you play is the format for which you’ll produce players. You can’t play more T20 cricket and get Test players. You can’t prepare for science and then sit for a maths exam. If you’re being tested for maths, you study maths. To play red-ball cricket, you must play red-ball cricket,” added Masood on the issue.

Bangladesh’s discipline was superior to ours in both Tests: Masood

Masood further elaborated on the parameters where his side lacked as compared to the visitors, and called for self-introspection so as to overturn their fortune going forward.

“We have to respect the opposition and Bangladesh’s discipline was superior to ours in both Tests. We have to look at ourselves and the kinds of mistakes we made this series, and we made plenty. Test cricket, in terms of fitness, whether mental or physical, lasts for four or five days. What we’ve shown this series is that’s something we need to work on,” concluded Masood.

Also Read: Shan Masood addresses Babar Azam’s insipid Test form after embarrassing series defeat versus Bangladesh

Pakistan have up until October to reasess their tactics and make changes to their composition before they host a high-flying England team for a three-match Test series at home.