Dropped As Pakistan Captain, Shan Masood Hits Back At PCB With Historic Century

Shan Masood [Source: AFP]

Shan Masood notched up a scintillating century against West Indies on Day 3 of Pakistan’s series-opening first Test at Tarouba. Batting at number three, the cricketer completed the landmark figure in just 163 deliveries, hitting 11 elegant boundaries at the time.

The innings marked his seventh Test century and his first against the West Indies. Moreover, Masood also delivered a strong statement against the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) after getting dropped as Pakistan’s Test captain.

Shan Masood becomes first batter to script a rare record

Shan Masood notched up the seventh Test century of his career through the course of his regal knock against West Indies on Day 3 of the series-opener.

In the process, the 36-year-old also became the first cricketer in history to score a Test hundred at the Brian Lara Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad. It is worth noting that the ongoing Test match between the West Indies and Pakistan is also the first-ever to be hosted by the venue.

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The innings also marked Masood’s first Test century after a gap of a year-and-a-half, considering his previous hundred occurred against South Africa way back in January 2025.

Having recently been removed as Pakistan's Test captain by the PCB, Masood responded in the best possible fashion, letting his bat do the talking with a timely century under pressure.

Why was Shan Masood removed as captain?

Shan Masood was appointed as Test captain way back in 2023. Under his leadership, the Pakistan cricket team found little-to-no success in the game’s most prestigious format. 

Apart from suffering crushing series defeats in Australia and South Africa, the ‘Men in Green’ also lost two Test series to Bangladesh (home and away).

Justifying Masood’s removal as captain, Pakistan’s director of high-performance Aaqib Javed said “The conditions and bowlers changed, but the outcome remained the same and that pointed towards issues in leadership and game management.”

After sacking Masood as captain, the PCB re-appointed fellow senior batter and all-time great Babar Azam to lead Pakistan’s Test side. 

Masood inches Pakistan closer to West Indies

Batting at number three, Shan Masood arrived at the crease inside the third over of the innings after the fall of opening batter Azan Awais for a duck. 

The cricketer subsequently forged a fighting 155-run partnership for the second wicket with half-centurion Imam-ul-Haq. He shared another 41 runs with captain Babar Azam to steer Pakistan towards the 200-run mark.

As of now, Masood has formed forces with Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan. The two cricketers joined each other at 244-4 in 63 overs, shortly after Shamar Joseph knocked over star all-rounder and Pakistan’s T20I skipper Salman Agha (20 off 60 balls).

At the time of publishing, the Pakistan cricket team found itself another 67 runs away from West Indies’ first innings total of 311.

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