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Pakistan's test skipper to continue after Bangladesh white wash
Pakistan captain Shan Masood admitted there are serious issues to address in the team’s Test setup after Bangladesh completed a historic 2-0 series sweep with a 78-run win in Sylhet, but stopped short of discussing his own future as captain.The defeat marked Pakistan’s fourth consecutive Test loss to Bangladesh and extended their poor away run to seven straight defeats, equalling their worst sequence overseas. Under Masood, Pakistan also finished bottom of the previous World Test Championship cycle and currently sit eighth in the ongoing standings.
When asked about his captaincy after the loss, Masood said the final decision rests with the Pakistan Cricket Board.“My intentions are clean. I took on this job to improve our Test cricket. There are things that need to be discussed with the board and the decision is always the board’s. But my intentions have always been on how to improve this side because (I feel) you should always take on challenges and accept opportunities,” he said.
“It will always be my effort in any capacity – it doesn’t have to be that I do it sitting in the captaincy chair, or the player chair, wherever. You don’t know where life will take you, but I’ve always worn this shirt with pride and put everything aside for this.”
Masood said Pakistan’s repeated inability to capitalise on strong positions had hurt the team throughout the series. In Sylhet, Pakistan had reduced Bangladesh to 116/6 in the first innings before allowing them to recover through Litton Das’s century.“If we talk about the series, yes, it’s never a good place to lose games,” he said.
“But again, in this series, I thought in both matches we’ve had significant chances to do well in the game. And I think we have to look at ourselves, we have to reflect on ourselves, whether that’s batting, bowling, or fielding, and see where we lost the game.”
The Pakistan skipper also pushed back against calls for sweeping changes to the squad, saying the focus should instead be on fixing deeper structural problems within the Test side.“(The) changes needed are structural. For those changes you address root causes and put aside emotions. We are hurt and always offer our sincerest apologies. We won’t look at it emotionally though, just how we can improve it,” he said.Masood’s own record as captain has come under scrutiny, with Pakistan losing 12 of the 16 Tests played under his leadership so far.
When asked about his captaincy after the loss, Masood said the final decision rests with the Pakistan Cricket Board.“My intentions are clean. I took on this job to improve our Test cricket. There are things that need to be discussed with the board and the decision is always the board’s. But my intentions have always been on how to improve this side because (I feel) you should always take on challenges and accept opportunities,” he said.
“It will always be my effort in any capacity – it doesn’t have to be that I do it sitting in the captaincy chair, or the player chair, wherever. You don’t know where life will take you, but I’ve always worn this shirt with pride and put everything aside for this.”
“But again, in this series, I thought in both matches we’ve had significant chances to do well in the game. And I think we have to look at ourselves, we have to reflect on ourselves, whether that’s batting, bowling, or fielding, and see where we lost the game.”
The Pakistan skipper also pushed back against calls for sweeping changes to the squad, saying the focus should instead be on fixing deeper structural problems within the Test side.“(The) changes needed are structural. For those changes you address root causes and put aside emotions. We are hurt and always offer our sincerest apologies. We won’t look at it emotionally though, just how we can improve it,” he said.Masood’s own record as captain has come under scrutiny, with Pakistan losing 12 of the 16 Tests played under his leadership so far.
