Pakistan cricketer Ahmad Shehzad did not hold back in his criticism of Masood, openly questioning his captaincy skills during the Test match in Rawalpindi. Shehzad accused Masood of lacking a basic understanding of Test cricket and criticized his performance both as a captain and a batter.
In a video shared on social media platform X, Shehzad expressed his dismay at how fans are now losing interest in watching Pakistan play cricket. “Whenever Pakistan has a match, people turn off their TVs. And this is something I’m telling you from the public’s perspective. If you go to the people, you will understand what they are saying. You can’t control the fans anymore,” Shehzad said.Shehzad went on to criticize Masood’s tactical decisions during the game, including his selection of the playing XI and his inability to read the pitch correctly. “You are the captain of the Pakistan team now, but there is no clarity about your vision. There’s no understanding of your playing XI. You couldn’t even read the pitch. You didn’t play a spinner. The excuses you gave in the press conference, about managing player workloads with a fourth fast bowler, were incorrect. The brand of cricket we want to play, you explained it wrong,” Shehzad stated.
Further questioning Masood’s leadership qualities, Shehzad remarked, “Aapki apni performance kuch nahi hai. Koi leadership skills aapne dikhayi nahi is pure match ke ander ke. Samajh aati hai aapki bowlers ne performance nahi kiya, unka caliber yahi hai. Samajh aati he ki aapki batsmen ne bura khele paanchwe din, caliber yehi hai. Lekin aap ne bhi as a leader kuch nahi kiya [Your own performance is nothing. You did not show any leadership skills throughout the match. I understand if your bowlers underperformed—that’s their caliber. I understand if your batsmen played poorly on the fifth day—that’s their level. But as a leader, you did nothing].”
Shehzad emphasized the importance of knowledge and strategic thinking in Test cricket. “In Test cricket, there is enough time and so much to do, but for that, you need knowledge. You need to be smart. You need to understand these things to execute them through your players. If you don’t have the knowledge yourself, how will you guide your players? When there are some minor successes, like a small partnership, you start making forced decisions, moving fielders around unnecessarily, trying to show you’re doing something,” he continued.
In his closing remarks, Shehzad was blunt about Masood’s shortcomings as a captain, saying, “You’re just trying to cover your face. The problem is that every decision has a method behind it, and you don’t know the method. We know that you don’t know. Yet, you are the captain of the Pakistan team.”
The strong words from Shehzad reflect the growing frustration and disappointment within the cricketing community and among fans. With Pakistan set to face Bangladesh again in the second Test, the pressure is mounting on Masood and the team to deliver a turnaround performance.
