As I said, in my opinion, he's good enough for our low standards when it comes to middle-order batsmen. It's not like we've got a MoYo waiting in the dugout to replace him. He definitely makes the team despite his substandard batting because of his value as a captain. Again, he's not great but he's a million times better than Babar Azam as a captain.
I, for one, did not make this claim. However, I will endorse it in the sense that Masood provides a lot of impetus with his aggressive batting approach and when it does come off, it is useful. Also, I am willing to give him a longer leash considering his stellar performances in the County circuit.
This is a flawed approach and history would prove my point. You could have the best XI of batters and bowlers in the world but if they can't field, keep wickets or take catches, you will almost always lose. Captaincy and leadership qualities are similarly important. Babar Azam is a terrible captain. He does not espouse any confidence whatsoever and is a lakeer ka fakeer. As a captain, Masood makes the best XI.
I'm not sure if you actually bothered to watch the Australian series. For the first time in a long time, it actually looked like Pakistan was playing like a proper team. Every single game was exciting and Pakistan showed fight on all days they played. There was a difference in their strides that you can't necessarily put down in facts and figures. However, even if you must, go and have a look at the scorecards and compare them to the previous Australian tour. It will show you how much better we did and I put that down to captaincy.
He definitely should not be kicked out of the Pakistani Test side. He deserves a longer rope and anyway, there is no one to replace him as captain. Babar Azam is a dud, Rizwan barely makes the side in Asian conditions himself (which is your standard for a captain) and Shaheen cannot play all games.
As far as PSL is concerned, KK is neither a national side nor is it a not-for-profit organisation. They will play whoever they see fit. There are similar examples around the world in franchise leagues.
Pakistan doesn’t need a Yousuf to replace Masood. Yousaf was a world class player who averaged 50 in Test cricket.
Pakistan
only needs a 35 averaging batsman to replace a dud like Masood who averages 28, that too in the prime of his career.
In spite of Pakistan’s depleted resources, replacing Masood is not a difficult task. Unfortunately, those superior batsmen cannot speak English and their fathers are not BOGs.
I don’t know what you think about Masood’s so-called improvement or not, and honestly this discourse has nothing to do with you at a personal level, but didn’t you create the Masood 2.0 thread or whatever it was called?
Masood 2.0 is as big a dud as Masood 1.0. As far as his captaincy is concerned, it is a scam. He is no leader and no captain.
This guy cannot bat and everything about him - his body language, his facial expressions, his physique - screams mediocrity. He has zero personality, zero allure and he cannot carry his own weight as a player.
Pakistan’s so-called improvement performance in Australia this time around had nothing to do with his captaincy. Pakistan caught Australia at the right time just like West Indies caught Australia at the right time and won a Test.
West Indies winning a Test really put Masood and his team to shame.
Australia is playing some poor Test cricket but they are lucky to have faced opposition that are playing worse. All of their specialist batsmen are in dire form.
This drama of Masood’s great captaincy and leadership will also end in tears just like this drama of his “improvement” as a batsman.
As far as who the Test captain should be, Pakistan should not have hounded Babar out of Test captaincy because Pakistan’s main problem in Test cricket was not his captaincy but the pitches that were being prepared for home series.
Pakistan would remain a very competitive Test side at home vs Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand if they produce spinning pitches.
If not Babar, then it Rizwan is a million times better option than Masood because Rizwan makes the team on merit. If not Rizwan, who would be your Test wicket-keeper?
Sarfaraz made a mini comeback but he is clearly a washed up player now and quite old. He is not an option.
You cannot compare Masood’s place in the team with Rizwan’s. Masood doesn’t make the team on merit but Rizwan does.