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Pakistan Captain Shan Masood speaking during a Press Conference after winning the Test series against England:
About pitches in domestic cricket:
"To become a top Test team, adaptability is the key. In the World Test Championship, you have three home series and three away series, and you need to perform in various conditions, score runs in different conditions, and take 20 wickets in different conditions. Preparation is crucial. We haven't had Test grounds with pitches like this in the past, but playing in Karachi and smaller grounds like National Bank and UBL and occasionally at Faisalabad Stadium, we've encountered similar pitches. It's not impossible, but it's important to understand the characteristics of our Test centers. For example, in Karachi, we'll find this type of pitch, and in Lahore, we'll find a different type. Instead of trying to create a new pitch everywhere, we should pay more attention to this. Our planning should consider the specific characteristics of our Test centers. Then, we can schedule matches against the opposition on those same grounds and prepare accordingly."
About Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique’s future and his form:
“This is a team game, not an individual one. If you look at the characteristics of this ground, you should note that the batting unit has made a sacrifice; they did the same in the Bangladesh series, playing on green wickets where our score could be low, but we can take 20 wickets. Even on these pitches, our score might be low, but we can still get 20 wickets. Some players will have low scores. As I mentioned yesterday, Mohammad Rizwan and I played against our nature; I faced 70 balls and Mohammad Rizwan faced 50, but those 120 balls made it easy for Saud Shakeel, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali. Just the day before yesterday, the 35-run partnership between Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique was all about teamwork.”
“We never look at individual performances, whether they're good or bad, from an individual perspective; we see it from a team perspective. It's easy to say someone didn't perform or didn't lead from the front, but we need to focus on what they did for the team. We need characters in this team, and in the last two games, we've found those kinds of characters, those who have come and contributed to the team on the field, whether with the bat or the ball.”
“When we talk about Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, they represent the future of Pakistan's Test cricket. We've had the least number of openers in the World Test Championship since it started, and that's a fact. If you don’t support your players, you're just going to keep chopping and changing. The Pakistan team has finally found a bit of stability and consistency. When the team really needed to make some changes like, when we went from the second Test match to the third, we realized if we kept playing the same way, we were just going to keep losing. So, changes were definitely needed”
About pressure on him after losing 6 games being a captain:
"I've never really felt the pressure on an individual level. At the end of the day, this isn't just my name; it's a responsibility for Pakistan. No matter what shirt you’re wearing as a player or a captain, it doesn’t belong to anyone personally. The biggest disappointment was that we had lost six matches. We thought we did some good things against Australia, but unfortunately, we couldn’t carry that over in the first Test against Bangladesh and England and couldn't take the rewards for the good things we did.”
“At the end of the day, Pakistan cricket needs to move forward. That should be our goal, whether you're in the media, a player, part of the cricket board, or a fan. We all want to see Pakistan win and make the country proud. Obviously, it was painful, but look at how people responded, how the management, selectors, and the team handled it. I think that's the most important part. We all need to show a bit of empathy here. When times get tough, we should support each other and push ourselves to get results. During this time, we motivated each other, and it led to a great outcome for Pakistan."
About his confidence as a captain:
"We shouldn’t mind if a Test match ends in a day; the main thing is winning the match. There’s no issue of captaincy confidence here. This is my responsibility, and when you take on that responsibility, there are many smaller responsibilities that come with it, such as making the right selections. This is the Pakistan team, and it genuinely hurts if our country loses a match—whether as a player or a captain, that's painful. I've always seen this as a huge honor. I don't think anyone could receive a bigger honor than this. The responsibility is to do justice to this position and meet its demands."
About overseas tour and learnings from this series:
"Regardless of where we play, we must adapt to the conditions. In the case of the spin-friendly conditions we recently faced, even our players were encountering such conditions at home for the first time. I believe our team deserves credit for handling this new challenge more effectively than the opposing team.”
“Wherever we travel to play, I will ensure that we maintain our focus on our collective responsibilities as a team. As captain, it's my duty to ensure our team's adaptability. Whether we are playing on a pitch with a lot of grass, a flat pitch, or one that favors spin bowling, we must achieve positive results for Pakistan."
About the winning formula:
“I'm pretty satisfied that we lost the toss and still won the match. When we played in Multan, people said it wasn’t sustainable and that we couldn’t carry that performance forward. Sure, Multan was a bit of an unusual case because we played on a used pitch, which was a new experience for me. Rawalpindi was different because it was a fresh surface, but prepared differently. After we lost the toss, my message to the team was: imagine how great it would feel to actually win the match from this position. After the Multan game some people were saying that winning the toss was really important. The toss can matter sometimes, but cricket – especially Test cricket – is played over five days, or sometimes just three, like this match. As for the conditions, we can handle pitches like that just fine. That’s encouraging, as I’ve mentioned before.”
“We have not played on such wickets in Pakistan so for us to figure out how to adapt with both bat and ball, and respond to conditions that challenge us, is really encouraging. But here's the real challenge: if you want to fight for the trophy and be one of the top teams in the world, you have to learn how to play in all conditions—whether it’s England, Australia’s pitches, or green seaming wickets anywhere. It’s never easy, and sometimes it can be a real struggle.”
About England’s struggle in the last 2 games:
"If you look at England in the first innings, they probably scored about 40 to 50 runs above par. That partnership between Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson really highlights the depth in their team. You can also take their India series as an example. Even though they lost 4-1, if you watched the series ball by ball, you’d see that England stayed in the contest for long periods. For them, it’s about finding those crucial moments and capitalizing on them.”
“For example, if Saud Shakeel hadn’t scored that century, and if England had managed to clean up the tail quickly, they would’ve been in a commanding position. In Multan as well, Salman Ali Agha was dropped twice; otherwise, England were in a decent position. They’re still a very challenging team, and I believe they’re one of the best in the world. Sometimes, scorecards don’t fully reflect how good a team truly is."
About the upcoming series against South Africa and Australia tour:
"Looking at the Australia series, even though it’s a white-ball series, it will provide the players with some good challenges to prepare for what they might face in South Africa. The Australian side has some strong players, like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood. A lot of our Test batters are also part of the one-day team. We toured South Africa in 2019, and many of the current players from Pakistan have experience playing there. The challenge will be completely different this time. It’s all about ensuring we take 20 wickets and back it up with the bat by scoring the runs we need.”
About future strategy for selection:
“What’s important is that we sit down together with the selection and leadership group. We need to come up with strategies for winning Test matches for Pakistan. We’ve been on the same page about that, no matter the pitches, the weather conditions, or the playing eleven. So far, it’s been a really encouraging start. If something is working well, we should all come together and push Pakistan cricket forward."
About pitches in domestic cricket:
"To become a top Test team, adaptability is the key. In the World Test Championship, you have three home series and three away series, and you need to perform in various conditions, score runs in different conditions, and take 20 wickets in different conditions. Preparation is crucial. We haven't had Test grounds with pitches like this in the past, but playing in Karachi and smaller grounds like National Bank and UBL and occasionally at Faisalabad Stadium, we've encountered similar pitches. It's not impossible, but it's important to understand the characteristics of our Test centers. For example, in Karachi, we'll find this type of pitch, and in Lahore, we'll find a different type. Instead of trying to create a new pitch everywhere, we should pay more attention to this. Our planning should consider the specific characteristics of our Test centers. Then, we can schedule matches against the opposition on those same grounds and prepare accordingly."
About Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique’s future and his form:
“This is a team game, not an individual one. If you look at the characteristics of this ground, you should note that the batting unit has made a sacrifice; they did the same in the Bangladesh series, playing on green wickets where our score could be low, but we can take 20 wickets. Even on these pitches, our score might be low, but we can still get 20 wickets. Some players will have low scores. As I mentioned yesterday, Mohammad Rizwan and I played against our nature; I faced 70 balls and Mohammad Rizwan faced 50, but those 120 balls made it easy for Saud Shakeel, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali. Just the day before yesterday, the 35-run partnership between Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique was all about teamwork.”
“We never look at individual performances, whether they're good or bad, from an individual perspective; we see it from a team perspective. It's easy to say someone didn't perform or didn't lead from the front, but we need to focus on what they did for the team. We need characters in this team, and in the last two games, we've found those kinds of characters, those who have come and contributed to the team on the field, whether with the bat or the ball.”
“When we talk about Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique, they represent the future of Pakistan's Test cricket. We've had the least number of openers in the World Test Championship since it started, and that's a fact. If you don’t support your players, you're just going to keep chopping and changing. The Pakistan team has finally found a bit of stability and consistency. When the team really needed to make some changes like, when we went from the second Test match to the third, we realized if we kept playing the same way, we were just going to keep losing. So, changes were definitely needed”
About pressure on him after losing 6 games being a captain:
"I've never really felt the pressure on an individual level. At the end of the day, this isn't just my name; it's a responsibility for Pakistan. No matter what shirt you’re wearing as a player or a captain, it doesn’t belong to anyone personally. The biggest disappointment was that we had lost six matches. We thought we did some good things against Australia, but unfortunately, we couldn’t carry that over in the first Test against Bangladesh and England and couldn't take the rewards for the good things we did.”
“At the end of the day, Pakistan cricket needs to move forward. That should be our goal, whether you're in the media, a player, part of the cricket board, or a fan. We all want to see Pakistan win and make the country proud. Obviously, it was painful, but look at how people responded, how the management, selectors, and the team handled it. I think that's the most important part. We all need to show a bit of empathy here. When times get tough, we should support each other and push ourselves to get results. During this time, we motivated each other, and it led to a great outcome for Pakistan."
About his confidence as a captain:
"We shouldn’t mind if a Test match ends in a day; the main thing is winning the match. There’s no issue of captaincy confidence here. This is my responsibility, and when you take on that responsibility, there are many smaller responsibilities that come with it, such as making the right selections. This is the Pakistan team, and it genuinely hurts if our country loses a match—whether as a player or a captain, that's painful. I've always seen this as a huge honor. I don't think anyone could receive a bigger honor than this. The responsibility is to do justice to this position and meet its demands."
About overseas tour and learnings from this series:
"Regardless of where we play, we must adapt to the conditions. In the case of the spin-friendly conditions we recently faced, even our players were encountering such conditions at home for the first time. I believe our team deserves credit for handling this new challenge more effectively than the opposing team.”
“Wherever we travel to play, I will ensure that we maintain our focus on our collective responsibilities as a team. As captain, it's my duty to ensure our team's adaptability. Whether we are playing on a pitch with a lot of grass, a flat pitch, or one that favors spin bowling, we must achieve positive results for Pakistan."
About the winning formula:
“I'm pretty satisfied that we lost the toss and still won the match. When we played in Multan, people said it wasn’t sustainable and that we couldn’t carry that performance forward. Sure, Multan was a bit of an unusual case because we played on a used pitch, which was a new experience for me. Rawalpindi was different because it was a fresh surface, but prepared differently. After we lost the toss, my message to the team was: imagine how great it would feel to actually win the match from this position. After the Multan game some people were saying that winning the toss was really important. The toss can matter sometimes, but cricket – especially Test cricket – is played over five days, or sometimes just three, like this match. As for the conditions, we can handle pitches like that just fine. That’s encouraging, as I’ve mentioned before.”
“We have not played on such wickets in Pakistan so for us to figure out how to adapt with both bat and ball, and respond to conditions that challenge us, is really encouraging. But here's the real challenge: if you want to fight for the trophy and be one of the top teams in the world, you have to learn how to play in all conditions—whether it’s England, Australia’s pitches, or green seaming wickets anywhere. It’s never easy, and sometimes it can be a real struggle.”
About England’s struggle in the last 2 games:
"If you look at England in the first innings, they probably scored about 40 to 50 runs above par. That partnership between Jamie Smith and Gus Atkinson really highlights the depth in their team. You can also take their India series as an example. Even though they lost 4-1, if you watched the series ball by ball, you’d see that England stayed in the contest for long periods. For them, it’s about finding those crucial moments and capitalizing on them.”
“For example, if Saud Shakeel hadn’t scored that century, and if England had managed to clean up the tail quickly, they would’ve been in a commanding position. In Multan as well, Salman Ali Agha was dropped twice; otherwise, England were in a decent position. They’re still a very challenging team, and I believe they’re one of the best in the world. Sometimes, scorecards don’t fully reflect how good a team truly is."
About the upcoming series against South Africa and Australia tour:
"Looking at the Australia series, even though it’s a white-ball series, it will provide the players with some good challenges to prepare for what they might face in South Africa. The Australian side has some strong players, like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood. A lot of our Test batters are also part of the one-day team. We toured South Africa in 2019, and many of the current players from Pakistan have experience playing there. The challenge will be completely different this time. It’s all about ensuring we take 20 wickets and back it up with the bat by scoring the runs we need.”
About future strategy for selection:
“What’s important is that we sit down together with the selection and leadership group. We need to come up with strategies for winning Test matches for Pakistan. We’ve been on the same page about that, no matter the pitches, the weather conditions, or the playing eleven. So far, it’s been a really encouraging start. If something is working well, we should all come together and push Pakistan cricket forward."
