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Pakistan National Cricket Team will be touring the Caribbean Islands to play the West Indies National Cricket Team for two Test matches, which are scheduled to start on July 25. Ahead of the series, Pakistan removed its Test captain, Shan Masood, and returned Babar Azam as the captain of the side once again. Under Shan Masood, the Men in Green started with a 3-0 defeat in Australia.
They only won against England at home, followed by a loss to the Bangladesh National Cricket Team at home and then yet again against the same opposition away from home. The first time Bangladesh had beaten them in a Test series in Pakistan. After that, they lost 2-0 to South Africa and drew 1-1 at home against the West Indies.
Shan Masood's record as captain
Shan Masood as a batter was good, but his captaincy was dismal, and thus he was removed from the leadership role; the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) handed over the captaincy to their experienced campaigner Babar Azam. Pakistan cricket has been under huge pressure as they are bottom-placed in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-2027 cycle, even below Bangladesh, with three losses in four matches.
Masood captained Pakistan in 16 Test matches between 2023 and 2026, registering 4 wins and 12 losses. During his time at the helm, he scored at an average of 34. He scored 1056 runs as a captain and scored two centuries and seven fifties during his tenure. However, he is still in the team as a player.
"I would have filed a written complaint"- Ramiz Raja backs Shan Masood
Several former cricketers and experts have criticized Pakistan for their poor performance under Shan Masood in Test cricket. However, former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and former Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Ramiz Raja has come in support of the former Test captain Masood.
Ramiz Raja believes that Masood was provided with an average team, and the PCB did not provide him much support in his captaincy; thus, the results were not in favour of the Pakistan team, and he explained that the former would have filed a complaint if he were in Masood's place against Mohsin Naqvi’s PCB after being dropped as captain.
Ramiz Raja said, "If I were in Shan Masood's place, I would have filed a written complaint. They keep giving me mediocre talent, and that's why the results are affected. It's because I simply don't have enough talent in the team."
Babar Azam's captaincy record
Babar Azam as a Test captain has been excellent, as he already had a productive Test record. In his first stint, Babar led Pakistan in 20 Tests, winning ten. His captaincy began with a 2-0 home win over South Africa, and he led Pakistan to clean sweeps of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka away.
Babar's second spell will begin later this month with a two-Test series against the West Indies, followed by a three-Test series in England. As a captain, he has a spectacular batting record in Tests, with an average of just over 50 and 1727 runs, including four hundreds and 11 half-centuries.
