Disgraced Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood is reportedly leaving no stone unturned to save his job. Masood and his captaincy recently came under fire after Pakistan’s loss to Bangladesh in the Test series earlier this month.
Reportedly, Masood has the backing of the people who matter, even though public sentiment is against him currently. In 2024, Pakistan lost the two-match home Test series against Bangladesh by a margin of 2-0. The same thing happened again in May 2026. This time, though, Bangladesh was hosting.
Pakistan lose successive Test series against Bangladesh
In the first Test at Dhaka, Bangladesh overcame both the rain and the fading light to register a 10-run win. Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto scored a century while Mominul Haque and Mushfiqur Rahim made fifties, despite Mohammad Abbas’ five-fer; the hosts put up 413.
Pakistan’s debutant Azan Awais made a century and three other batters made fifties, but Mehidy Hasan Miraz took a five-wicket haul to give Bangladesh the lead.
In the second innings, Bangladesh fared worse; Haque and Shanto both made fifties, and with the Test running out of time, Bangladesh declared the innings. At one point, it looked like Pakistan might save the match, but Nahid Rana blew up the lower middle order with a five-wicket haul.
In the second Test, the action moved to Sylhet, but Pakistan’s fate did not seem to change. Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Abbas still ran riot on the first day, but Litton Das made an excellent century to give Bangladesh exactly what they needed. Das made 126 while the next highest score was 29, and Bangladesh only got 278.
Pakistan somehow fared worse. Babar Azam made 68, spinner Sajid Khan was the second-highest scorer with 38, and no one else made more than 21. Taijul Islam and Nahid Rana took 3 wickets each to give Bangladesh a slender lead.
Which was all the ‘Tigers’ needed. Das followed his century with a fifty, but the real star of the show was Mushfiqur Rahim with a record-breaking century. Bangladesh set a record chase of 437 against Pakistan. Despite three Pakistan players making more than 70, Taijul Islam’s six-wicket haul gave Bangladesh successive series wins over Pakistan.
The results meant that Bangladesh climbed up to No. 5 on the points table, while Shan Masood’s men slipped to No. 8 in the nine-team tournament.
Shan Masood keen to complete the WTC cycle as captain
Sources in both the PCB and those close to Masood have told agencies that Shan Masood wants to continue as captain despite seemingly being public enemy No. 1.
Agencies have also reported that for now, Masood seems to be enjoying the backing of those who matter, but PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi is currently otherwise occupied to pay attention to this matter.
Apart from being the Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mohsin Naqvi is also the Interior Minister in the Pakistan government. The war situation in the Middle East has reportedly left him little time to deal with this.
Another source close to Shan Masood has stated that while he does want to continue as captain, he also wants structural changes in how the team is selected and run.
“Shan has conveyed to the board that constant changes in the coaching positions and team management have not been very helpful for him as captain and his efforts to build a strong Test squad,” the source added.
High-level meeting scheduled to discuss Masood’s future
Reportedly, a meeting has been scheduled to discuss Masood’s future as Test captain and his place in the team.
Pakistan are due to play Australia in an ODI series later this month, and then embark on a Test tour of the West Indies in August. Shan Masood’s future as captain is set to hinge on the meeting that is scheduled between these two series.
Shan Masood as Test captain
As skipper, Shan Masood has been less than impressive and has not delivered the results expected of him. In 16 matches as captain, he has lost 12 and won just 4. That translates to a win percentage of just 25%.
In fact, only one other Pakistan captain has lost more Tests than Shan Masood, Misbah-ul-Haq, who lost 19. But Misbah captained in 56 Tests, about three and a half as many as Masood.
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