Pakistan's Test captain Masood admits inadequate preparation led to series defeat

RAWALPINDI: Pakistan's Test captain Shan Masood, despite a demoralizing series defeat against Bangladesh, remains unworried about his future. He admitted that the team was not adequately prepared for the challenges of red-ball cricket.

Bangladesh defeated Pakistan by six wickets in the second Test on Tuesday, completing a 2-0 series victory—a first in their history.

Masood acknowledged the team's shortcomings and emphasized the need for improvement. “I take responsibility for the defeats and I apologize to the nation. But I think we need to focus on how we can improve and take our Test side forward,” Masood said in the post-match press conference.

He recognized that playing Test cricket after a gap of nearly 10 months posed significant challenges.

"There is no excuse for losing this series and we accept that. But it is also a fact that the players also wanted to do well. But we were just not prepared for red-ball cricket. We have to tolerate some failures if we are to move forward,” he added.

Masood suggested that building a strong pool of fast bowlers should be a priority. “The main thing is that we need to build our stocks in fast bowling and need to encourage and give consistent chances to those bowlers who regularly play red-ball cricket,” he said.

Pakistan's bowlers struggled to make a consistent impact in the second Test, particularly after dropping Shaheen Shah Afridi and resting fellow pacer Naseem Shah. Masood also disagreed with the assessment that the last two Tests were the darkest days in Pakistan cricket over the past three decades.

“That is not a fair assessment because we can never underestimate any opposition and I think Bangladesh played more disciplined cricket than us in both Tests. I think Bangladesh needs to be respected for their performances, whereas we made too many mistakes,” he said.

Masood noted that the Test match slipped away when Pakistan allowed Bangladesh to recover from 26 for 6 in their first innings and eventually reach 262. He also highlighted the need for better fitness standards.

“In Test cricket, you need to have the fitness to last five days and also have the intensity for five days, and I think that is one area in which we really need to work a lot more. I think because of this we couldn't capitalize on the opportunities to push Bangladesh out of the game,” he added.

The 34-year-old captain dismissed suggestions that the management made errors in selecting the playing eleven. “Sometimes we can make mistakes in selection, but it is not intentional and we picked the best eleven we could given the conditions in both Tests,” he insisted. “The thing is we need to play more red-ball cricket. That is the bottom line,” he concluded.

Masood defended Babar Azam, who struggled in the series, making just 64 runs across two matches at an average of 16. “We are not playing red-ball cricket even at the domestic level, so how do we replace out-of-form players? But Babar has made runs in the past and he will do it again,” Masood said.

Pakistan's red-ball head coach, Jason Gillespie, expressed support for Masood. “Shan, I feel, has led the side very well. We just haven't played well as a team, and that's the reality. We need to sharpen up on certain areas. I really want to back and believe in these players. They are good enough and have shown glimpses of how good we are. We just need to do it more often and consistently,” Gillespie said.