Shan Masood backs rank turners in Pakistan’s domestic cricket despite Multan defeat-OxBig News Network

Shan Masood backed turning pitches to be a part of Pakistan’s domestic cricket. On Monday, Pakistan slumped to a huge 120-run defeat in their second Test against the West Indies at the Multan Cricket Stadium. But Masood said that having won three out of their last four Tests on home soil and dominating the first half of the second Test, Pakistan should focus more on preparing rank turners.

Last year, Pakistan came back from 0-1 down to beat England 2-1 at home. Against the West Indies, Pakistan won the first Test by 127 runs before getting rolled over in the second Test. With the defeat, Masood’s men also finished the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle at the bottom of the table.

“100%. It’s a game of all stakeholders. We should also appreciate the players for throwing themselves in the den without preparation. But I think domestic cricket also will be played like this. We won three out of four matches in these conditions, and we dominated the first hour of the first day here as well. It’s very important,” Masood said in the post-match presentation ceremony.

‘Babar played proactively’

Masood also lauded Mohammad Rizwan, Saud Shakeel, Babar Azam and West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite for showing a willingness to grind it out in challenging conditions to bat on.

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“We’ve seen encouraging signs, batsmen being proactive like Saud and Rizzy getting fifties. Even my fifty was off 60 balls, Babar played proactively as well yesterday. It’s about realising that you might not get hundreds here, but even 30s and 40s contribute to winning situations. Kraigg Brathwaite was the ideal example yesterday,” Masood added.

Chasing 254 to win the second Test, Pakistan were shot out for 133 in 44 overs in their second innings. Babar, Kamran Ghulam, Shakeel, Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha got into double digits, but could not make their starts count.