After the World cup debacle , lot of teams underwent a significant changes in structure and started considering players suited for the upcoming future of their respective countries. Pakistan too went through similar changes and decided to hand the reigns of Test captainship to left hander batter Shan Masood. Shan Masood wasn’t a regular part of the side under the leadership of former skipper Babar Azam.
Shan Masood led Pakistan to Australian shores where in the first practice match vs the Prime Minister XI he led from front scoring a swashbuckling 201 runs and his intent of playing fast paced cricket raised eyebrows in the eyes of many former Pakistani cricketers
However everything only seemed an oasis when Australia put on their A game against the depleted Pakistani side and thrashed them by 360 runs well within 4 days in the First match of the 3 match Test series .The 34-year-old Shan Masood managed only 32 runs in the opening Test against Australia, including a single figure in the second innings
Such humiliating was the nature of the defeat that after the horrendous efforts in fielding and bowling, the Pakistani batters in the second innings couldn’t withstand the might of hostile Australian attack on the bouncy wicket at Perth getting out for a mere 89 runs all out in the second innings of a test match. No Pakistani batters showed grit determination and intent to face the Australian bowling attack and failed like chips on the cricket field.
This horrendous display of skills irked many former Pakistani cricketers who on their social media went vocal about their teams chances in the remainder of 2 matches in the series.
Mudassar Nazar not happy with the appointment of Shan Masood as skipper of Test team
Former Pakistan batter Mudassar Nazar has sympathized with Shan Masood over being made Test captain despite not warranting a regular place in the side. Nazar observed that PCB somehow tried to make Masood the captain in the previous regime too.
With Babar Azam resigning as skipper across formats after the 2023 World Cup, PCB installed Masood as Test captain, while Shaheen Shah Afridi took charge of the T20I side.
Speaking to Cricket Pakistan, the former Pakistani opener recognized that the ongoing Australia tour has been hard on Masood. The 67-year-old questioned the decision to appoint the southpaw as captain, elaborating:
‘I have observed efforts being made for a while now to somehow accommodate him in the team and later make him captain. This happened in Najam Sethi’s era, and now under Zaka Ashraf, the same is happening,”
“Poor guy, what can he do? He was made captain on such a challenging tour when there was no place for him in the team. He was made captain during such a difficult series when there was no spot for him in the team,” he added.
Babar Azam chases the ball – Mudassar Nazar
Going by Babar Azam’s horrendous display in test matches the former Pakistani opener has raised concerns over the batters form and reflected on his performances.
Reflecting on Babar Azam’s failures in Perth, Mudassar Nazar reflected that both were wicket-taking deliveries, adding:
“The performance of Babar in Tests is quite different from his ODI and T20 performances. Although, he is an excellent Test batsman, but he chases the ball a little [in Tests],”
“In Perth Test, he faced both deliveries that would have gotten any batter out, and there was nothing he could do about it. It was that sort of a pitch that anyone can get out at any time.” he added
Babar made 21 from 54 balls in the first innings before being caught behind off Mitchell Starc, and made just 14 runs from 37 deliveries in the second innings. Australia and Pakistan will next lock horns in the second Test at the MCG, beginning on December 26th (Boxing Day) and it would be interesting to see how Pakistan turns themselves ON against dangerous looking Australia to keep their hopes alive in a 3 match series.