Multan: Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood said that they have maintained consistency in the selection after announcing the playing 11 for the first Test against England in Multan beginning from Monday.
For the first Test of the three-match series, the pace trio of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Aamer Jamal have returned to Pakistan’s side.
Pakistan’s last Test victory on home soil came against South Africa in Rawalpindi in February 2021. Since then, Pakistan have endured a dry spell, losing six matches and drawing four – their longest winless run since earning Test status in 1952.
“There is a lot of hurt within the players. 2024 has not been a good year for Pakistan cricket all over and we like to see our fans happy. After religion cricket comes next, everyone is clued up on how the cricket team is doing so we are hurt. The answer is to be positive. We let the past go. We have tried to maintain consistency in selection. We haven’t had any chopping and changing because we have lost a few games. We believe in this set of players and with Jason Gillespie we wanted to create a squad mentality. The players are being backed to turn things around,” Masood said at the press conference.
Since that 2021 victory, Pakistan have played 23 Tests overall, securing just eight wins – two each against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, three against Sri Lanka, and one against the West Indies. They’ve suffered 11 defeats, including four to Australia, one each to Sri Lanka and the West Indies, three to England and two to Bangladesh. The remaining four Tests, all drawn, were against Australia and New Zealand.
“Multan is new territory for us. When we played Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, we had played a lot of cricket there so we knew how the pitch would play if you left grass on it. It was a bit tricky against Bangladesh for batsmen. Here we are leaving it to the groundsman. We would like one final look tomorrow, hence why we have tried to cover bases and have three seamers and two spinners like England. We have a bit of depth in batting as well,” the Pakistan captain said.
Masood is aware of England’s Bazball threat and lauded them for being creative on the field.
“It (Bazball) has had an effect on the world. Sometimes we get too caught up in set ways of doing things. So the best thing England has done is realise there are other perspectives and things that might suit you. The key is to find new ways of doing things. That is how the world has always progressed and cricket is no different. It is like life. You try and evolve and create new ways and England have been pioneers in that,” Masood said.
Pakistan playing 11 for 1st Test: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamer Jamal, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.
–IANS