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Even if they may have arrived in a somewhat colourful
manner, Pakistan’s selection of Shan Masood as Test captain was more of a
name-throwing exercise than a methodical move of an accomplished player into a
leadership role.
Masood’s engagement in any part of Pakistan cricket
might be seen with a great deal of cynicism, but maybe that’s just because it’s
the simplest thing to do. Though it wasn’t to be expected, the PCB handled
Babar’s removal from the captaincy with little grace. However, when it came to
selecting his replacement, the decision was made with the intention of
selecting a capable captain. And sometimes the purest form of sophistication is
precisely that kind of simplicity.
With the technique he brought to the job, Masood
wasn’t exactly creating the wheel, but you couldn’t say he was sleepwalking
through it either. Just after arriving in Perth, he started discussing the
strategy Pakistan should follow to defeat Australia. Despite his
non-threatening and soft-spoken style, he has been asking for this from his
players throughout the entire series.
This strategy runs the danger of appearing foolish, as
it may have with some of Masood’s dismissals, but as he stated the night before
the third Test, risk-reward outweighs particular appearances.
However, no other Pakistani player has two
half-centuries in the two Tests, no teammate has amassed more runs than he has,
and, with the exception of Mitchell Marsh, no player in either unit can claim a
higher strike rate. Throughout the series, only Travis Head, who has faced
about half as many balls as Masood, has been able to surpass the Pakistan
captain’s aggressive shot percentage of 22.39%.
His detractors will refer to the indisputable fact
that he, more than any other Pakistan captain in the previous 24 years, has
presided over a series loss in Australia and question how plausible it is that
Pakistan bats the same number of overs if they are scoring at greater run
rates. It’s easier to be sceptical about Masood, though, than it is to win Test
matches in Australia.
The way Pakistan’s fielding placements continue to
fluctuate and alter is another indication of it. Depending on the hitter and
the mood Pakistan has tried to create in the field, short legs have come in and
gone out.
The moment Masood went to speak with Shaheen Shah
Afridi, Pakistan put in a leg slip and Afridi sent one down legside that he
nicked off to the keeper, was most famously when Marnus Labuschagne did him in
by squeezing him down the legside.
When Australia
looked like they would escape on the opening day in Perth, Pakistan bowled
short, obtaining three cheap wickets by positioning fielders in catching
positions behind the stumps.
Masood may not be the type to start riots in the
locker room, but he has been exposed to a variety of leaders and views over his
ten years on and off with the national team as well as numerous across the
red-ball and franchise circuits.
Masood will never enjoy the widespread backing that
Babar, his predecessor, did, nor the long, unhindered run that Misbah-ul-Haq
enjoyed with his Test team. It is difficult to predict where Masood and
Pakistan will be when they play their next Test series, which may not be for
another ten months.
But until then, he’s using the armband the same way he
usually does when he has a bat in his hand: he’s fiddling, adjusting, and
thinking, trying to figure out a solution he’ll eventually figure out.
Furthermore, he always has one more thing to try if this doesn’t work. He does
it every time.