Not stepping down: Shan

RAWALPINDI: Shan Masood who rewrote Pakistan cricket history for a wrong reason refused to step down as the captain, saying the reports about his resignation were rumors.

Shan has become the only captain in Pakistan cricket history to have lost his first five Tests as captain. Under Javed Burki Pakistan lost four of the five Test when he was given the reign in 1960s. “The news about my stepping down are rumors and nothing else. I have not resigned and plan to continue,” he said.

He however apologised to the nation as he did after losing the first Test last week. “I apologise to the nation for not putting up the performance which every fan was expecting from us. We did not overcome flaws that we have shown in the first Test that resulted in the loss of the second Test.

“We are not accustomed to playing the long version of cricket and that could well be one of the reasons for defeat.” His other reason was that there was a lot to do when it comes to players’ fitness. “We have not been in the best of shape when it comes to maintaining fitness for Test cricket. You have to be fully fit and ready on all five days of the Test. Sadly that was not the case with some of the players.”

Shan was also unhappy with the batsmen ‘s performance in the second innings. “There performance was far from satisfactory in both Tests, especially in the second innings where no big innings was played. On the contrary Bangladesh team looked well versed and settled in all departments.”

He also maintained that losing the toss in both Tests turned out to be an important factor. Pakistan Test captain said that despite these multiple reasons his team had its chances. “We pinned down Bangladesh at 26 for 6 and then lost the initiative. We were in a position to take a big first innings lead but no one stood up to the challenge.”

Shan rejected the impression that he had exchanged hot words with the coach or any player. “There is no truth in that. Shaheen Afridi had a shoulder problem and that was why he took my hand off his shoulder.” He also backed Babar Azam as a top batsman, saying that he has scored a lot of runs for the country in the past and would soon be seen playing his role in the best possible way.

Shan called on the policy makers to give more attention to four-day cricket so that the fitness and temperament of players could be developed. “We have to make a combined effort to develop our red-ball team. There has not been any real effort in the past to develop a longer version of the game in accordance with the requirements of international cricket.”

Shan, however, expressed his regret. “We should not have lost in such a way. I know we have far better players than what you have seen in the series. Our coach is new and he requires time to adjust.”