Pakistan‘s Test captain, Shan Masood, faced a tough press conference on Monday after being retained in his role for the opening Test of three-match series against England, as the media persons questioned team selection.
The criticism of Pakistan’s performance across formats has continued since the team’s exit from the ODI World Cup last year, followed by a poor show in the T20 World Cup this June and a home Test series defeat against Bangladesh.
While the team will face a tough challenge from England to reverse its form in the Test arena, Masood’s first challenge was to face the pointed questions fired at him by the media.
“Have we still not come out of this liking and disliking in the team?” asked a journalist. “We are continuing to give those (inconsistent) players chances…Shouldn’t (batsman) Kamran Ghulam be given a chance from now on?”
Masood didn’t hold back. “Sir thoda apna question rephrase kar dein, aapne thode facts bhi galat bataye hain (please rephrase your question, your facts are incorrect),” responded the Pakistan captain before a brief argument with the journalist over statistics.
“I can also pull out selector stats,” Masood added.
The journalist continued: “If a player has one fifty in 10 innings, how many chances will you give him?”
“With all due respect, I don’t think your question is accurate…I agree that Pakistan hasn’t played good cricket in 2024,” said the skipper, adding that it’s wrong to compare the performances of Tests with T20Is and vice versa.
“Things should be looked at objectively.”
On the question of backing a player despite a poor run, Masood said: “If I back a player who becomes a good servant for Pakistan cricket and lose my own spot in the process, I will have no regrets.”
Pakistan will begin the series against England on October 7 in Multan.