Three potential candidates who can replace Shan Masood as Pakistan’s Test captain

Pakistan has struggled in home Test matches since 2021, losing six out of their last ten, with the remaining four ending in draws. Their last home Test victory was against South Africa back in February 2021.

Under Shan Masood's leadership, the team has yet to secure a win. His tenure began with a 0-3 whitewash against Australia and was followed by a historic 0-2 series loss to Bangladesh at home.

Pakistan’s Test captain has acknowledged that the team has not performed up to expectations.

"There have been four instances during my tenure where we let the opposition back into the contest despite being in a dominant position. We should have capitalized better after reducing them to 26-6. That's something we need to address swiftly," Masood said in a post-match press conference on Tuesday.

Under scrutiny

Masood is aware that his role is under scrutiny and that there is little margin for further mistakes.

"I am not concerned about job security," Masood stated. "I took on this role to implement changes that will benefit the team. Even if it costs me personally, as long as it helps Pakistan, I'll be satisfied."

The recent series loss to Bangladesh has raised questions about his captaincy, particularly after several strategic errors.

In the first Test, Pakistan fielded an all-pacer attack on a pitch in Rawalpindi that favored spinners in the later stages, leading to Bangladesh's first-ever Test victory against Pakistan. In the second Test, on a more pace-friendly track, Pakistan rested their top pacers, Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Pakistan sorely missed the services of Naseem when they had Bangladesh reeling at 26-6 in the first innings. Naseem is extremely effective at dismissing the tailenders, taking a wicket every 16 balls with the opposition seven down.

Masood conceded that resting both premier pacers might not have been the best decision.

"We considered playing four fast bowlers due to the conditions, but ultimately chose Mir Hamza for the left-arm angle. In hindsight, perhaps we should have split Naseem and Shaheen between the two Tests. However, we have to consider the overall health of the players given the heavy schedule ahead," he explained.

Gillespie backs Shan

Despite the setbacks, Pakistan’s red-ball coach, Jason Gillespie, has expressed support for Masood.

"Shan has led the side well, but we haven’t performed as a team. We need to improve in certain areas, and I believe in these players. They are talented, and with more consistency, we will see better results," Gillespie said.

However, if Pakistan decides to change the captain again, following are the possible options available at their disposal:

Saud Shakeel

Saud Shakeel provided solid support to Saim Ayub in the first Test in Rawalpindi.AFP

Saud Shakeel was handed the Test vice-captaincy, replacing Shaheen Afridi, by the PCB when Pakistan announced the squad for the home Test series against Bangladesh.

The 28-year-old was appointed as Shan’s deputy with an eye on the future. As speculation grows about a potential change in leadership, the newly appointed vice-captain can be considered a strong candidate.

Shakeel has been impressive in his Test career so far, scoring 1,126 runs at an average of 56.30, including three centuries.

Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has also praised Shakeel's leadership qualities, noting his experience as a captain at various levels, including leading Sindh to National T20 Cup.

While Saud has led domestic teams, he might need more time under Shan to learn the quirks of captaincy at the international level.

Mohammad Rizwan

Mohammed Rizwan and Saud Shakeel put on a partnership of more than 100 in the first Test in Rawalpindi.AFP

Mohammad Rizwan has considerable captaincy experience in domestic cricket leading Peshawar and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) teams across formats.

During the 2018 season, Rizwan also led the Pakistan ‘A’ team against New Zealand ‘A’ in UAE, as Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) were preparing him for a leadership role for the future.

However, when Sarfaraz was removed from captaincy in 2019, Rizwan was overlooked and Babar Azam was appointed the captain in all three formats.

Rizwan did get a taste of Test captaincy when Babar got injured during Pakistan’s 2020 tour of New Zealand, which the tourists ended up losing by 2-0.

Since then, Rizwan has led Multan Sultans to their maiden PSL title as well as made them one of the most consistent teams in the league.

Rizwan's recent form has been impressive, particularly in the series against Bangladesh, where he scored a commanding 171 in the first Test and followed it up with a half-century in the second innings.

Despite his previous stint as Test captain resulting in two losses, his leadership abilities have been evident during the ‘A’ team tours and in the PSL, making him a viable option if the PCB is considering a change in leadership.

Babar Azam

Babar Azam takes evasive action in the second Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.AFP

Babar is a prominent figure in Pakistan cricket with a decent track record as a Test captain. Under his leadership, Pakistan played 20 Test matches, securing 10 wins, facing six losses, and drawing four.

Pakistan started the ongoing World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle with a 2-0 away win against Sri Lanka under Babar’s leadership.

However, he decided to relinquish captaincy in all formats in 2023 after he was asked by then PCB chairman, Zaka Ashraf, to step down from white-ball captaincy.

Given his current form, the PCB might be hesitant to burden him with the captaincy again, as it could further impact his batting performance.

Whether replacing Masood as captain will improve Pakistan's fortunes remains to be seen, but frequent changes in leadership have often done more harm than good.

Hence, the roadmap forward should be to prepare leaders for the future in domestic cricket. The newly introduced Champions Cup tournaments in the 2024-25 domestic season offer an opportunity to identify and develop players with leadership potential.

By allowing these players to hone their captaincy skills at the domestic level, the PCB can prepare them for future leadership roles on the international stage, rather than risking untested captains in the high-pressure environment of international cricket.