Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Pakistan Test coach, encouraged Shan Masood to keep playing for the squad. Masood’s coach commended his “excellent” attitude ahead of what will be his debut series without the armband after guiding Pakistan for nearly three years. After a training session on the eve of Pakistan’s departure for the West Indies to play two Test matches and a warm-up match, Sarfaraz remarked, “I spoke to Shan Masood and his confidence and spirits are high.
“He was well-prepared, but his hamstrings ached a little. However, he had a great attitude. Shan is a very sensible senior player. He knows how to overcome this. He will now contribute as a player in the same manner as he did as captain.
Even though Masood’s tenure as Pakistan’s captain was ultimately unsatisfactory, it was accompanied by a consistent improvement in his own form, making him more certain of a spot in the team than at any other moment in his inconsistent career.
With Azan Awais and Abdullah Fazal, who have only played two Tests apiece, flanking the former Pakistan captain, Pakistan will benefit greatly from that form and experience in the top order during the summer in the West Indies and England.
However, Sarfaraz and Pakistan are certain that being undercooked is not one of their issues. “We’re really well-prepared. After a month-long camp in Lahore, we gave the guys four or five days vacation. We then conducted another three-day camp here [in Rawalpindi]. There, the humidity is similar to what it is here. We anticipate positive outcomes because we are ready for the warm weather.
Prior to the Tests, which will also be held on the same island, Pakistan will have the unusual luxury of a four-day tour match in Trinidad. “We’ve built our team looking at conditions in West Indies,” Sarfaraz stated.
“That’s what we’ve planned for. We set up some spin courses and pitches with grass on them. We worked on both. Both of our Test matches are at Port-of-Spain, where we have a practice match [in Tarouba and then at Queen’s Park Oval]. We anticipate adjusting to the weather.
Sarfaraz admitted that the recent outcomes had been unsatisfactory.
Twelve of Pakistan’s previous sixteen Test matches, including the two most recent ones against Bangladesh in May, have ended in defeat.
That was Sarfaraz’s first series as head coach and, in the end, the final one before the PCB decided to switch captains. By doing this, they went back to Babar Azam, who Masood had stolen the armband from in 2023.”I would like to congratulate Babar Azam on being named captain,” said Sarfaraz, who both led and captained Babar.
“He has the experience, and has captained Pakistan before.”The outcomes of our latest series have been disappointing. It’s a really difficult period. However, we’ve put in a lot of effort over the last month. We had one-on-one conversations with them to clarify our expectations. We’re hoping that our efforts and the things we’ve worked on with them in this heat will pay off. Our goal is to win the series.
