Pakistan’s struggles in Test cricket continue under the leadership of Shan Masood, with the national side losing 11 out of 15 matches since he took over as captain.
Shan Masood assumed the Test captaincy after Babar Azam stepped down following the 2023 World Cup, but results have failed to improve under the new leadership.
Pakistan’s recent defeat against the Bangladesh national cricket team marked the team’s third consecutive loss against Bangladesh, further adding to the growing criticism surrounding the side’s poor performances in the longest format.
Pakistan whitewashed in Australia, South Africa amid poor away record
Since December 2023, Pakistan has played six away Test matches and lost all of them, suffering whitewash defeats in both Australia and South Africa.
Bangladesh not only defeated Pakistan in a Test series on Pakistani soil for the first time, but also completed a 2-0 whitewash. Under Shan Masood’s captaincy, Pakistan has also lost home Test matches against England, West Indies, and South Africa.
Despite Shan Masood’s claims of aiming to reach the final of the World Test Championship, the team’s performances have been disappointing, and the record continues to worsen. After every defeat, the captain points out mistakes, but has yet to explain how the team plans to overcome them.
Pakistan finished seventh in the 2023 World Test Championship cycle and last in the 2025 cycle. Based on the team’s current performances, it appears they may be heading even further downhill.
Meanwhile, Pakistan Test team captain Shan Masood has blamed the entire team for the defeat in the first Test against the Bangladesh national cricket team.
Speaking to the media after the match in Dhaka, the Pakistani captain said that Test cricket does not forgive mistakes. “We got many chances, but if we make mistakes, this is the result,” he said.
Shan Masood added that the defeat was disappointing. “We hoped our set batsmen would bat long, but unfortunately, that did not happen. If our set batsmen had stayed longer, we could have drawn the match. We have to take responsibility for winning.”
The captain further said that he would not single out individual bowlers or batters. “As a captain, I will not say that the bowlers or batters did not play well. The bowlers showed excellent spells in some sessions,” he said.
He also praised Bangladesh batters Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque, saying their partnership took the game away from Pakistan and was the turning point of the match.
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