Basit Ali: “I have been saying that Shan is an opener he should open. But he played at number three. Now, what will happen? Who will you drop? He should play at his number”
Image taken by: Bimal Mirwani
Former Pakistan cricketer Basit Ali admitted he is confused as to why Test captain Shan Masood isn’t playing as an opener.
Masood regularly comes in at number three now, with Saim Ayub and Abdullah Shafique being the go-to opening batsmen for the men in green in the longest format.
Considering that the 35-year-old has a lot of experience opening the batting, Basit conceded it is puzzling as to why Masood demoted himself to one down.
“I have been saying that Shan is an opener he should open. But he played at number three. Now, what will happen? Who will you drop? He should play at his number. He doesn’t even know captaincy. What has happened to this cricket team? It is shameful,” he said on his YouTube channel as quoted by Cricket Pakistan.
Masood led Pakistan in their two-Test series against Bangladesh, where he amassed 105 runs, which included a top score of 57, at an average of 26.25.
He then proceeded to represent the Stallions in the Champions One-Day Cup, which was a domestic 50-over competition that took place in Faisalabad, and scored 102 runs at an average of 25.50.
Most recently, Masood was involved in Pakistan’s three-Test series against England and accumulated 225 runs, which included a top score of 151, at an average of 45.
The men in green ended up defeating England 2-1, which gave them their first Test series win at home since 2021.
Next up, Pakistan will tour Australia for three ODIs and three T20Is from November 4 to 18.
They will then head to Zimbabwe for three ODIs and three T20Is from November 24 to December 5.
Pakistan Squad for Australia ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi
Pakistan Squad for Australia T20I Series: Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan, Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Naseem Shah, Omair Bin Yousuf, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem, Usman Khan
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe ODI Series: Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Ahmed Daniyal, Faisal Akram, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Hasnain, Mohammad Rizwan (captain and wicketkeeper), Irfan Khan, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Shahnawaz Dahani, Tayyab Tahir
Pakistan Squad for Zimbabwe T20I Series: Ahmed Daniyal, Arafat Minhas, Haris Rauf, Haseebullah Khan (wicketkeeper), Jahandad Khan, Abbas Afridi, Mohammad Hasnain, Irfan Khan, Omair bin Yousuf, Qasim Akram, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha, Sufiyan Muqeem, Tayyab Tahir, Usman Khan
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