“He is not Mike Brearley or a great captain that he will continue to have a place even if he keeps scoring 0” – Ramiz Raja on Shan Masood

Former Pakistan batter Ramiz Raja has questioned Shan Masood’s place in the team after they suffered a 10-wicket loss against Bangladesh at Rawalpindi on Sunday. The left-hander returned with scores of 6 and 14 in the two innings of the opening Test against the Tigers despite playing on a flat track.

Raja said Masood is not like former England skipper Mike Brearly or a great captain, who will be able to retain his place in the team after not scoring consistent runs.

The southpaw has scored 1798 runs in 34 Test matches at a mundane average of 28.09 and thus he hasn’t been able to deliver the goods. Masood also has the experience of leading Yorkshire in County Cricket and also leads Karachi Kings in the Pakistan Super League.

“Shan Masood needs to first bat well and then show his knowledge of the game a little because he is decently experienced as far as captaincy is concerned. He captains in county cricket and has captained his team in the PSL. I couldn’t understand on what basis he thought that if you leave grass on the Pindi pitch in August, the ball will swing a lot,” Ramiz Raja said on his YouTube Channel.

“Firstly, he has to take the correct direction. It was a massive faultline from the selection point of view. His batting has gone down. He is not Mike Brearley or a great captain that he will continue to have a place even if he keeps scoring zero. He needs to pull his batting up,” the former Pakistan batter added.

On the other hand, former Pakistan skipper Babar Azam returned with scores of 0 and 22 in the opening Test and Raja reckons he needs to up his game

“Similarly, Babar Azam needs to up his game. I feel he has a lot of potential in Test cricket at No. 4 because the sideways movement is finished and then you get good batting conditions. However, what can he do if such an atmosphere has been created? A defensive and losing atmosphere has been created,” he said.

The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Pakistan can not afford to lose the series against Bangladesh.

“You are defeating your own aim through tactics and selection. Even if you play new players, they are not of the standard that you will straightaway get match-winners. Pakistan have to win the next match at any cost. You cannot lose this series because Pakistan cricket is already under pressure and the pressure will increase if you lose this series to Bangladesh,” Ramiz Raja elaborated.

The second Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be played at Rawalpindi from Friday onwards.