Pakistan Test skipper Shan Masood firmly dismissed any allegations of match-fixing within the team as they prepare for their 2-match Test series against Bangladesh. The rumours of discord and grouping in the dressing room have been swirling ever since Pakistan’s disappointing exit from the T20 World Cup in June.
Masood took no time in shutting down these rumours by emphasizing the team’s unity and focus on their upcoming challenges.
During the press conference, a journalist asked Masood about his message to the team following Arshad Nadeem’s historic gold medal at the Paris Olympics. By asking this question, the journalist tried to suggest that Nadeem’s achievement was bigger than anything that the Pakistan cricket team has achieved in recent years.
Here is what Masood had to say in response, “I won’t ever question anyone’s intentions. You used the word ‘match-fixing’. In this cricket setup, I don’t think there is anything that points fingers towards that. I won’t ever agree to this.”
“Secondly, you can’t mix formats. The World Cup is in the past. You have to look forward. This is a Test team. Even in the last series, we played good cricket but couldn’t win. Now, we have a good opportunity in the home series, we have to play our style of cricket and win matches for Pakistan,” Masood added.
