Shan Masood to be sacked as Pakistan Test captain, Babar Azam’s bestie poised to take over

Pakistan National Cricket Team Test captain Shan Masood has come under serious scanner. As per the reports in Cricket Pakistan, it is learned that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is all set to remove him as the captain of the team in the longest format of the game.

This comes after the Pakistan National Cricket Team suffered a 2-0 whitewash in the recently concluded series against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team under the leadership of Shan Masood. The team also lost crucial World Test Championship points.

After the team suffered the loss, Pakistan skipper Shan Masood faced a lot of criticism from fans as well as experts including Ramiz Raja and Basit Ali, who questioned his leadership and batting performance. Many even raised calls to remove him as the captain of the team following poor performances.

Shan Masood, who was appointed as the Test captain in place of Babar Azam during the tenure of former Chairman Zaka Ashraf, has lost 5 out of the 5 games that he has captained. He became the first Pakistan captain in history to achieve this unwanted feat.

With Shan Masood facing a lot of flak, head coach Jason Gillespie has backed him to lead the team. The Pakistan National Cricket Team Test captain also hasn't given any indication to step down from the role and has expressed a desire to continue leading the team.

As per the reports, Pakistan Cricket Board Chairman Moshin Naqvi has been left disappointed with the way the team performed. He is in talks with the board officials and might soon take some tough decisions for the betterment of Pakistani cricket. He will be reviewing the team and captain's performance and the decision will be made soon.

Shan Masood also failed to lead from the front in the two-match Test series against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team. The left-hander failed with the bat as the team suffered a 10-wicket thrashing in the first game followed by a 6-wicket defeat in the second Test.

In the first game, Masood scored 6 and 14 runs in the first Test and then followed it up with 57 and 28 runs in the second game. Masood in the five matches that he has captained so far in Tests has slammed just 286 runs at an average of 28, which is well below his standards.

Mohammad Rizwan to replace Shan Masood as Pakistan Test captain if PCB makes a change in Test leadership

If the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decides to make a change in the Test captaincy, Mohammad Rizwan might be given the chance to lead the team. The keeper-batter has been in sensational form of late and also played an innings of unbeaten 171 runs in the first game against Bangladesh.

The reports claimed that he might also be in line to become Pakistan’s captain across all formats in the future. In the white-ball format, Babar Azam's leadership too has come under scanner.