Pakistan succumbed to an embarrassing six-wicket defeat at the hands of Bangladesh in second Test match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Tuesday (September 3). As a result, they conceded the series 2-0.
Chasing 185 to win, Bangladesh were 42/0 at stumps on Day 4. The visitors needed 143 runs on the final day to sweep the series and they achieved the target without any fuss.
Despite the humiliating series loss, Shan Masood seemed unconcerned about his personal future as the captain. However, the Pakistan skipper acknowledged that his team was not adequately prepared for the demands of Test cricket.
While Masood apologised to the fans, he highlighted the importance of moving forward swiftly from this setback.
"I take responsibility for the defeats and I apologise to the nation. But I think we need to focus on how we can improve and take our Test side forward," Masood said in the post-match presser, as quoted by PTI.
"There is no excuse for losing this series and we accept that. But it is also a fact that the players also wanted to do well.
"But we were just not prepared for red ball cricket. We have to tolerate some failures if we are to move forward," he added.
Masood emphasized that the first step forward for the team should be to focus on developing a strong pool of fast bowlers.
"The main thing is that we need to build our stocks in fast bowling and need to encourage and give consistent chances to those bowlers who regularly play red ball cricket," he said.
Pakistan's inexperienced pace attack struggled to maintain consistency during the second Test match, following the absence of Shaheen Afridi due to being dropped and the decision to rest Naseem Shah.
Many consider this debacle as the lowest point of Pakistan’s cricket history, but Masood expressed his disagreement.
"That is not a fair assessment because we can never underestimate any opposition and I think Bangladesh played more disciplined cricket over us in both Tests.
"I think Bangladesh need to be respected for their performances in contrast we made too many mistakes," he stated.
According to the Pakistan captain, the turning point in the Test came when they allowed Bangladesh to recover from 26/6 in their first innings, eventually reaching 262.
"In Test cricket you need to have the fitness to last five days and also have the intensity for five days and I think that is one area in which we really need to work a lot more.
"I think because of this we couldn't capitalise on the opportunities to push Bangladesh out of the game," he added.
The 34-year-old also dismissed suggestions that the management made mistakes in selecting the playing XI.
"Sometimes we can make mistakes in selection but it is not intentional and we picked the best eleven we could given the conditions in both Tests," he insisted. "Thing is we need to play more red ball cricket. That is the bottom line."
Shan Masood also defended Babar Azam after the star batter returned with only 64 runs in the two-Test series at an average of 16.
"We are not playing red ball cricket even at domestic level, so how do we replace out-of-form players. But Babar has made runs in the past and he will do it again," he said.
(With PTI Inputs)
