Shan Masood blames Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah’s fragile fitness for failed 4-pacer strategy vs Bangladesh

Pakistan captain Shan Masood has defended the team’s decision to opt for an all-pace attack in the first Test against Bangladesh, despite the strategy backfired, with Bangladesh recording a historic 10-wicket win over the hosts in Rawalpindi on August 25.

The decision to ignore a specialist spinner from the playing XI proved too costly, as Pakistan struggled to put pressure on Bangladesh, who posted a mammoth total of 565 runs in their first innings.

Shan Masood defends Pakistan's all-pace strategy despite embarrassing defeat to Bangladesh

The four Pakistani fast bowlers Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, and Mohammad Ali collectively bowled 117.3 overs, while part-time spinners Agha Salman, Saim Ayub, and Saud Shakeel were called into action for 50 overs in the first Test against Bangladesh.

This strategy failed to deliver the desired results as Bangladesh won their first-ever Test match against Pakistan, that too on Pakistani soil.

After the match, Masood explained that the decision was influenced by the challenging weather and the fact that Pakistan hadn’t played Test cricket over the past 10 months.

Shan Masood acknowledged that the inclusion of a spinner might have been beneficial, but the team aimed to balance the side with seven reliable batters and four main bowlers.

You can always fit the spinner in: Shan Masood

Shan Masood said at the post-match press conference: “The fast bowler was played looking at the extreme weather conditions where we could help each other share the load. Naseem and Shaheen hadn't played Test cricket for a while, and Pakistan haven't played Test cricket for 10 months.”

Masood added, “If we played three fast bowlers and lost one through injury, we could have been like, 'Why didn't we play that fourth fast bowler? Hindsight is always 20/20; you can always fit the spinner in, but you have to look at the full balance of the side. You need seven people that can bat properly and four frontline bowlers with a little help here or there.”

Losing match doesn't mean every decision was flawed: Shan Masood

The Pakistan skipper further explained that losing a match doesn't mean every decision was flawed. He pointed out that during the first four days, the host team was proactive and made strategic decisions, like declaring early and maintaining a scoring rate of around four runs per over.

He lamented that such actions went unnoticed as they lost the game to Bangladesh. Shan Masood signed off by saying, “Even if you lose, it doesn't mean you've done everything wrong. On the first four days, we were the ones that were very proactive; we were trying to take decisions; we declared quite early; we scored at a quicker rate, at around four runs an over. Those things don't count at the end of the day when you lose the game.”

Notably, the Pakistan team will face Bangladesh in the second and final Test at the same venue in Rawalpindi Cricket Team from August 30. Then, they will host England in a three-match Test series in October, while Bangladesh will travel to India for the two-match Test series.