Pakistan team has been under immense pressure following their 0-2 series defeat against Bangladesh in the two-match Test series recently. Before the Test series against Bangladesh, Pakistan had a horrible campaign at the T20I World Cup, facing disappointing defeats one after other. The past few months have been gravely upsetting for Pakistan as they have failed to produce effective outcomes. 

As Pakistan now gear up to host England for the three-match Test series, questions have been raised on team’s selection for the first Test. The squad for the first Test was recently announced and Shan Masood was retained as Test skipper. In the squad for the first Test, same faces were included, prompting a wave of reactions.

Addressing the press conference on Monday, Pakistan skipper Shan Masood was asked about Abdullah Shafiq’s place in the team despite having been remaining unimpressive in his last outings. Masood defended Abdullah by saying that he has better numbers than the Indian batter Virat Kohli early days in Test cricket. 

“Have we still not come out of this liking and disliking in the team? We are continuing to give those (inconsistent) players chances… shouldn’t (batsman) Kamran Ghulam be given a chance from now on?… Be it Abdullah Shafique or Saim Ayub, the same set of players are playing in Tests as well as T20Is,” Shan Masood was asked during the press conference.

“With all due respect, I don’t think your question is accurate… I agree that Pakistan hasn’t played good cricket in 2024, but mixing Tests and T20I stats is not right. Things should be looked at objectively. You talk about stats. The other day I was reading a stat that Abdullah Shafique, who has played 19 Tests, has a better record than Virat Kohli,” Shan said.