Pakistan captain Shan Masood stressed that his team will continue playing an entertaining brand of cricket while also making sure they get the right results in Test cricket. Masood, who was addressing the press in Rawalpindi, ahead of their two-Test series against Bangladesh said Pakistan are keen on making it to the final of the World Test Championship 2023-25.
Shan Masood took over as captain of the Test team last year and led Pakistan in Australia. Pakistan were blanked 3-0 by Pat Cummins’s men. However, Shan Masood and Pakistan earned praise for the brand of cricket that was on display.
“Look, I think, first of all. You want your fans and media to write good things about the team. That’s why one of our focuses is to play cricket everyone enjoys watching. It’s a result-oriented business at the end of the day. You have to have results on your mind,” Shan Masood said.
The Pakistan captain stressed the need to produce the right results in home Tests. Pakistan will play as many as seven Tests in a packed home season in 2024-25. After two Tests against Bangladesh, Pakistan will host England in a three-Test series in October before hosting West Indies in two Tests in January, 2025.
“And for us again, we have to look at our position in the World Test Championship. Yes, it was sixth and seventh before. Yes, we would like to obviously play the final this time. So if you want to play in the finals, we have to win our home Test matches. If we have to win that, we have to take 20 wickets consistently. And obviously, our batters should score enough and give the bowlers time to take those 20 wickets.
“I feel it’s about playing good and exciting cricket. Look, we all want Test cricket to be fun, Test cricket to be enjoyable, both for the fans and for us players. When we play Test cricket, we want to be excited about it and bring the same enthusiasm we do in any format. Our challenge is to get the right results, and also play a brand of cricket that is consistent and exciting to everyone,” he added.
CAN PAKISTAN CLIMB THE WTC TABLE?
Pakistan have not even finished in the top four of the World Test Championship in the first two cycles — 2019-21, 2021-23. Pakistan are currently at the sixth spot in the 9-team table, having won two matches (in Sri Lanka last year) and lost 3-0 in Australia.
India are currently on top of the World Test Championship table with 6 wins in 9 matches while Australia arfe at the second spot with 8 wins from 12 matches.
Pakistan are likely to offer a green top to Bangladesh in the first of the two Tests in Rawalpindi. The hosts have gone for an all-pace attack, trusting their pacers and their batters to get the job done.