Shan Masood as Pakistan Test Captain: A Game-Changer or a Gamble?

Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood has been under fire lately after the team’s white-wash defeat in the two-match away series against South Africa.

Shan, who was appointed as Test captain in November 2023 after Babar Azam’s resignation, has led Pakistan in 10 Test matches so far.

He brought a glimmer of hope for all the desperate cricket lovers as the Pakistan team’s performance in the ODI World Cup 2023 was as hard as a nail to digest.

With nothing worth looking back to, all hopes and expectations were tied to Shan’s appointment as red-ball team captain.

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Unfortunately, as Shan’s first year of captaincy came to an end, things didn’t unfold in the best possible manner for the new skipper.

Under his captaincy, Pakistan test team hit rock bottom by losing their first ever test match and series against Bangladesh.

Moreover, his first stint as Pakistan test team captain was also a failure when Pakistan lost 0-3 to Australia in December 2023.

The skipper took a sigh of relief after the team secured their 1st victory under his captaincy against England in October 2024. The victory, although important, couldn’t overturn the impact of the losses that had come before it.

Shan Masood’s Test captaincy record

Since Shan Masood’s appointment as skipper of the Pakistan team in the red-ball format, the Men in Green have played 10 test matches. 

Three of those ten matches were played against Australia on their home ground, two against Bangladesh on Pakistani soil, three against England again on Pakistan’s home ground, and the last two against South Africa on their home soil. 

Shan Masood and co. have only managed to win two out of the total ten test matches that they have played in this year.  Their only two victories came against England after they’d lost the first match of the series. 

Here’s a tabular summary of the Pakistan test team’s performance from December 2023 to this day:

Matches	Wins	Draws	Losses	Win%	Loss%
10	2	0	8	20%	80%

Let’s dissect these matches further and take a look at the winning margins to better understand what went wrong with the Men in Green. 

Opponent	Dates	Result
Australia	December 14 – December 17, 2023	Australia secured victory by 360 runs.
Australia	December 26 – December 29, 2023	Australia triumphed by 79 runs.
Australia	January 03 – January 06, 2024	Australia won convincingly by 8 wickets.
Bangladesh	August 21 – August 25, 2024	Bangladesh achieved a remarkable 10-wicket win.
Bangladesh	August 30 – September 3, 2024	Bangladesh prevailed by 6 wickets.
England	October 7 – October 11, 2024	England won by an innings and 47 runs.
England	October 15 – October 18, 2024	Pakistan claimed victory by 152 runs.
England	October 24 – October 26, 2024	Pakistan dominated with a 9-wicket win.
South Africa	December 26th – December 29th, 2024	South Africa won by a narrow margin of 2 wickets.
South Africa	January 3rd – January 6th, 2025	South Africa thrashed Pakistan by 10 wickets.

Safe to say, Shan Masood’s captaincy tenure hasn’t brought much luck or results for the Pakistan team. However, it’s important to note that team losses can’t entirely be blamed on the captain as multiple factors play a role in it.

Shan’s individual performance as captain

The 35-year-old batsman was a consistent part of the Pakistan test team even before he took up captaincy. His consistency and ability to stay on the crease have made him an indispensable asset for the team.

Let’s take a closer look at Shan’s individual performance ever since he became the Pakistan team’s skipper. 

MATCHES PLAYED	OPPONENT	RUNS SCORED
3	Australia	181
2	Bangladesh	105
3	England	225
2	South Africa	192

The skipper managed to score two centuries in his ten games and became the 17th Pakistan captain to score a hundred in the red-ball format. His run tally for the year is 703 runs. As of January 2025, Shan Masood has amassed 2300 test runs. 

With the Pakistan vs West Indies Test series just a week away, will the skipper be able to turn things around for himself and the team?

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