Why Shan Masood remains Pakistan’s best option for Test captaincy

Pakistan will begin their busiest Test season in years when they host Bangladesh in the two-Test series at home starting next month. And the one big question in the lead up to the series which will be followed by contests against England and the West Indies is: Whether Pakistan should retain batter Shan Masood as Test captain?

The simple answer to this question is Yes. And that’s not because Shan is a perfect choice for the Test leadership role. It’s because Pakistan do not have any better options. They have tried and failed with players like Babar Azam, who remains under fire after leading Pakistan to the T20 World Cup debacle in the United States last month. Mohammad Rizwan, another potential captaincy candidate, remains a controversial choice.

A slide show of recent former captains

A divisive figure

Shan Masood isn’t a very popular choice either. The 34-year-old left-handed opener doesn’t have a very good batting average (1178 runs from 33 Tests at 28.67). He has been in and out of the national team in a career that began with a debut Test against South Africa in Abu Dhabi in the fall of 2013. Over the years, he has received criticism and applause almost in equal measure. While some see him as a well-educated, athletic guy with a good head on his shoulders, others reject him as “parchi” because of his relatively posh background.

Graphs showing Shan Masood’s batting record

Why Shan?

Primarily because he is a well-educated guy who seems capable enough of shutting down all the noise that has affected the dressing room atmosphere in recent times. Shan has displayed good leadership qualities both in his leadership role with the Pakistan Test team as well as skipper of the English county team Yorkshire. Besides this, he is a technically-sound batter and there is plenty of room for him to improve that below-par average if given a longer stint, both as captain and opening batter.

What are Pakistan’s Test goals in 2024-25?

Currently languishing at fifth place on the ICC World Test Championship points table, Pakistan desperately need to win most of the home games against Bangladesh, England and the West Indies. Otherwise their chances of qualifying for the WTC final will become slim.

Pic of the latest WTC table