Sarfaraz Backs Masood After Captaincy Exit

Sarfaraz Ahmed, the Pakistani Test coach, encouraged Shan Masood to keep playing for the team. “I spoke to Shan Masood and his confidence and spirits are high,” Sarfaraz remarked following a training session on the eve of Pakistan’s departure for the West Indies to play a warm-up game and two Tests.

Masood’s coach praised Masood’s “excellent” attitude ahead of what will be his first series without the armband after leading Pakistan for nearly three years.He was well-prepared, but his hamstring ached a little. But he had a great attitude.

Shan is a highly sensible and experienced gamer. He is aware of 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 steady improvement in his own performance, making him more certain of a spot in the team than at any other time 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 his form and experience in the top order during the summer in the West Indies and England.

However, Sarfaraz and Pakistan are making sure that being undercooked is not one of their issues. “We’re really well-prepared. The youngsters were given four or five days break after a month-long program in Lahore.

Following that, we had another three-day camp here in Rawalpindi. There, the humidity is somewhat similar to that here. We anticipate positive outcomes because we are preparing for the anticipated warm weather.

Prior to the Tests, which will also be held on the same island, Pakistan will have the exceptional benefit of a four-day tour match in Trinidad. “We’ve built our team looking at conditions in West Indies,” Sarfaraz told reporters. “With that in mind, we have planned.

We set up various spin tracks and grass-covered pitches. On both, we practiced. Both of our Tests 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 latest outcomes had been unsatisfactory.

Twelve of Pakistan’s previous sixteen Test matches, including the two most recent ones against Bangladesh in May, were losses. It 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, the man Masood had stolen the armband from in 2023.

“I want to congratulate Babar Azam on being appointed captain,” stated Sarfaraz, who both led and captained Babar. “Our recent series have not produced good results. He has the experience and has previously captained Pakistan.” This is a really difficult time. But during the past month, we’ve put in a lot of effort.

We had one-on-one conversations with them to let them know what we expected. We’re hoping that the efforts we’ve put in and the things we’ve worked on with them in this heat will pay off. Our goal is to win the series.”