During a press conference in Multan following a historic defeat in the second Test match against the West Indies, a journalist asked Shan Masood, “Today we finish the World Test Championship in the 9th position. Will you make your own decision or wait for the Pakistan Cricket Board's decision?”
Hearing the question, Shan Masood showed annoyance and responded with, "Next question, please." However, he stopped the next question to address the matter further.
He said, “You should respect your players as well. It is the Pakistan Cricket Board's responsibility to make decisions, and whatever decisions the board has taken in the past, I, along with every player, have accepted them."
Shan Masood continued, “We belong to this country and its institutions, and we are also your people as Pakistanis. However, no one will tolerate such disrespect."
Addressing the journalist, he said, “Your question was highly disrespectful. If you want to demean someone, go ahead, but we play for Pakistan, and we have given our best efforts to bring results for the country.”
He further added, “If you want to discuss facts, let’s do it, but your information is completely incorrect. Regarding the pitch, we won three out of four matches and lost just one, which we could have won if we had avoided mistakes.”
Regarding the defeat against the West Indies in the second Test, Shan Masood said, “We didn’t achieve the result we wanted. The positive takeaway was that when you field first, it’s well-known that batting in the fourth innings on such pitches is challenging. That’s why every team tries to dismiss the opposition for a low score in the first innings, and we were somewhat successful in this, as we took the first eight wickets quickly.”
He explained that performances in both batting and bowling in the first innings are crucial. However, errors in dismissing the last two wickets and poor batting after being 119 for 4 and collapsing at 154 proved costly.
The captain said that if the team had capitalized on the first-innings lead and scored at least 100 runs or more, the outcome of the match would have been entirely different.
It is worth noting that due to poor performances by the host team’s batters, the West Indies defeated Pakistan on home ground for the first time in 34 years, shattering Pakistan’s hopes of winning the series. This was also the first Test victory for the West Indies in Pakistan since 1990.
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