Mohammad Hafeez: “Shan is the leader of our batting. The intent we need in our batting, he is showing that and leading from the front”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez said Test captain Shan Masood is the leader of the team’s batting line-up.
Usually, Babar Azam would be given the crown as he has repeatedly scored runs and won games for the men in green.
However, Hafeez feels that Masood is showing the intent needed and is “leading from the front” right now.
“Shan is the leader of our batting. The intent we need in our batting, he is showing that and leading from the front,” he was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
In the recent three-match Test series against Australia, Masood scored 181 runs, which included two fifties, at an average of 30.16.
As for Azam, he made 126 runs at an average of 21 as Pakistan were beaten 3-0.
He then played in the five-match T20I series against New Zealand and amassed 213 runs, which included three fifties, at an average of 42.60 and a strike-rate of 142.
Despite Azam’s efforts with the bat, the men in green lost 4-1.
Masood and Azam will now feature in the 2024 Pakistan Super League (PSL), where they will captain the Karachi Kings and Peshawar Zalmi respectively.
PSL 9 will get underway on February 17 and be played in four cities – Lahore, Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi.
Karachi Kings Squad for PSL 9: Shan Masood (captain), James Vince, Hasan Ali, Shoaib Malik, Tabraiz Shamsi, Mir Hamza, Muhammad Akhlaq, Muhammad Irfan Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Kieron Pollard, Daniel Sams, Tim Seifert, Mohammad Amir Khan, Anwar Ali, Arafat Minhas, Sirajuddin, Saad Baig, Jamie Overton
Peshawar Zalmi Squad for PSL 9: Babar Azam (captain), Rovman Powell, Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore, Mohammad Haris, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad, Haseebullah Khan, Asif Ali, Naveen-ul-Haq, Umair Afridi, Dan Mousley, Mohammad Zeeshan, Lungi Ngidi, Mehran Mumtaz, Noor Ahmad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob