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Former cricketer Basit Ali was unimpressed by the comments made by Pakistan's Test captain Shan Masood in his recent press conference. During the presser, Shan spoke about his experience of playing for Yorkshire and how a few matches in County Cricket were played with the Kookaburra ball.
Basit opined that Masood shouldn't be talking about Yorkshire and his focus instead should be on what's happening in the Pakistani team. Suggesting that there was no point in talking about the Kookaburra ball as the pitches in Pakistan are very different compared to the ones used in England, the cricketer-turned-commentator said in his latest YouTube video (from 1:40):
"He gave an example of Yorkshire in his press conference. He spoke about how rain is a factor there, and Joe Root and Harry Brook are also part of that team. I just want to say two things to Shan Masood. You are the captain of Pakistan, not Yorkshire."
"Do not give their example; give examples of players of your country. Speak about how you have players like Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Afridi, and Naseem Shah. Give your example. Don't give the example of the Kookaburra ball because there is a big difference in our pitches and their (England's) pitches."
Shan Masood will captain Pakistan in their upcoming two-match home Test series against Bangladesh. The first Test will be played in Rawalpindi from August 21.
"Shan Masood sahab, stop playing at No. 3" - Basit Ali's suggestion to Pakistan's Test skipper
Basit Ali further stated that Shan Masood should consider changing his batting position. He reckoned that the southpaw should not be batting at No. 3 and should look to open the batting across formats.
The 53-year-old also noted that he had earlier advised Masood to change the length of his bat. Basit remarked (from 3:34):
"Shan Masood sahab, stop playing at No. 3. When I saw you for the first time, I gave you the advice that the bat's length should be long. Today, I am giving you the advice to stop playing at No. 3. You should open the batting in all three formats. If you come at No. 3, you will harm yourself and Pakistan."
Pakistan's tour of Australia in 2023-24 was Shan Masood's first series as the Men in Green's red-ball captain. Australia completed a 3-0 whitewash over the visitors. Masood was his team's second-highest run-getter in the rubber, amassing 181 runs across six innings at an average of 30.16.
