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The Pakistan national cricket team is all set to start a new chapter in Test cricket under the leadership of Babar Azam as they prepare for the upcoming two-match Test series against the West Indies. This will be Shan Masood’s first Test series after losing the captaincy, but head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed has made it clear that this senior batsman is still a very important part of the team.
Following Pakistan’s poor results in recent Test matches, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) removed Shan Masood from the captaincy and brought back Babar Azam to lead the team. Even after losing the leadership role, the team management believes that Masood will continue to play a big role. Earlier, Sarfaraz Ahmed had expressed concern about fitness.
Sarfaraz Ahmed gives fitness update on Shan Masood
Ahead of the West Indies Test series later this July, Sarfaraz Ahmed said Shan Masood is in good mood and confident ahead of the tour. He also revealed that Masood had prepared well but suffered a small hamstring injury during training.
However, the injury is not serious and the team is not worried about his fitness. The coach praised Shan Masood for handling the situation in a positive manner. He believes that the left-handed batsman gave his best as captain and can now help the team by scoring runs as a senior player.
Sarfaraz Ahmed was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo, “I spoke to Shan Masood and his confidence and morale is high. He had prepared well but had a bit of a problem with his hamstring. But his attitude was excellent. Shan is a senior player and is very intelligent. He understands how to go through it. The way he contributed as a captain, now he will contribute as a player too.”
Pakistan is working hard for West Indies tour
Meanwhile, Pakistan has worked hard before leaving for West Indies. The players completed a month-long training camp in Lahore and then took a short break of four to five days. After that, he attended another three-day camp in Rawalpindi before flying to the Caribbean.
The team also practiced on different types of pitches. Some pitches had more grass to help fast bowlers, while others were spin-friendly so players could prepare for every situation. Meanwhile, Pakistan is set to host a four-team ODI tournament ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
The coach shared, “Our preparation is excellent. We had a month-long camp in Lahore before giving the boys about four to five days off. After that, we had a 3-day camp here [in Rawalpindi] again. The humidity there is somewhat similar to what it is here. The weather will be hot and we are preparing for that, so we are hopeful of good results.
“We hope we will get used to the weather” – Sarfaraz Ahmed on getting used to the conditions
He prepared the team as per the expected conditions in West Indies. Since the weather there is hot and humid, the players trained in similar conditions to those in Pakistan.
Sarfaraz further said, “We have made our team considering the conditions in the West Indies. We have prepared keeping that in mind. We have prepared some grass pitches and some spin tracks. We practiced on both. We have a practice match in Port-of-Spain where we have both our Tests.” [in Tarouba and then at Queen’s Park Oval]. “We hope to adapt to the weather.”
Before the start of the Test series, Pakistan will play a four-day practice match in Trinidad. Both Test matches will also be played in Trinidad, giving them enough time to acclimatise to the local conditions.