Pakistan skipper Shan Masood Tuesday admitted that for a captain it is important to lead by example but more stress should be on team’s show, since cricket is all about team effort.
Answering to ‘The News’ question, do you think for a captain leading by example is important and there was nothing to show off when it comes to your batting or leadership during the series against Australia? Shan Masood said: “Leading by example for a skipper is important but more important is team work.
‘‘In Australia, we showed strength in some departments and also we were weak in many. We should have shown much better performance in Melbourne and Sydney Tests’’. ‘‘There we made some mistakes which resulted in loss. As a team we want to overcome these flaws and hopefully we will do that during the series against Bangladesh.”
Shan rated Bangladesh team highly, saying: “In World Test Championship there is no team which could be termed as weak opponents. Our focus is on our strength and what we can do.”
Shan backed Saim Ayub and Mohammad Ali’s selection on the playing XI, saying that it was more a horse for courses policy. “We have played so much domestic cricket here at the Pindi Stadium where the pitch favours seam bowling and batting.
Spinners have very little role to play here so we have decided to include four seamers in our lineup. Saim’s last Test innings gave us confidence so we feel we should give him another chance.
Ali hits the deck hard and is expected to get something out of wicket. That was the reason they were preferred over others.” Shan also supported Mohammad Huraira and Imamul Haq, saying that they were very part of the bigger picture.
“We are looking at a broader pool rather picking players from a group of 15 around the squad. Saim deserves more chances which is important for his confidence building.” The captain said that they were looking forward to take 20 wickets to win the match.
“Our focus is on taking 20 wickets in the match. How the batsmen will back their bowlers in an effort to win the Test.” The Pakistan captain focused on playing the Test Championship final in a year’s time.
“Our focus is to win each Test on home soil so that we could stay in the hunt to earn a place in the final that is our main priority.” At the same time Shan praised Bangladesh batting lineup and the upcoming seamers.
“They have got a good quality team with batsmen like Litton Kumer Das and Shakib Al Hasan there to make their mark. Bangladesh seamers also have the capability to excel on surfaces which suit seam bowling like they did against Sri Lanka recently.”
Pakistan playing XI for first Test match (in batting order): Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (captain), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali.
Bangladesh squad (in alphabetical order): Najmul Hossain Shanto (captain), Hasan Mahmud, Litton Kumer Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nahid Rana, Nayeem Hasan, Shadman Islam, Shakib Al Hasan, Shoriful Islam, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Taijul Islam and Zakir Hasan.
