Mirpur: Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood on Tuesday took over as Pakistan suffered a crushing 104-run defeat to Bangladesh in the first Test of the two-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
Masood, who posted single-digit scores in each innings of the aforementioned match, insisted on not pinning the blame on his teammates and instead took full responsibility for the result, insisting that the Green Shirts should progress in the long form.
“There are a lot of things we need to improve in Test cricket. I will not blame anyone, I will take responsibility,” Masood said in the post-match press conference.
“But my endeavor is always to identify in which area we need to improve to become a better Test team. So, if you ask about my intentions, they are pure and fully focussed on improvement, be it team selection, my batting position and any team-related decision,” he added.
Chasing a target of 268, the tourists were 119/3 with debutant Abdullah Fazal and veteran all-rounder Salman Ali Agha in the middle, but the former’s dismissal in the 32nd over saw Pakistan lose 6 more wickets and lose 1 for 44.
Pakistan captain Shan insisted that if the set batsmen had taken the game deeper at that time, they could have saved the draw against Bangladesh.
“I thought in the game, especially the situation we were in at that stage, and we thought if both sets of batters could bat for a little while, we could take the game towards a draw.”
The left-handed batsman further emphasized the demanding nature of Test cricket, stressing that no opposition is weak in the longer format of the game.
“As I said earlier, Test cricket demands your best. In Test cricket you don’t play against any weak opposition. In this format, it’s always better and better and wherever you go wrong, you have to pay for it.”