Mohsin Naqvi’s PCB Accused Of 'Merit Killer' For Shan Masood As Captain

Shan Masood criticised for captaincy [Source: AFP]

Amid the ongoing Test match between Pakistan and Bangladesh, a legendary ex-cricketer has slammed PCB, led by Mohsin Naqvi, for appointing Shan Masood as red-ball captain without any significant merit.

After the 2023 ODI World Cup disaster, where Pakistan got eliminated from the group stages, Babar Azam resigned from captaincy across all formats. In the aftermath of his resignation, PCB appointed Masood as the team’s red-ball captain.

Shoaib Akhtar calls Shan Masood undeserving of Test captaincy

However, former Pakistan legend Shoaib Akhtar doesn’t feel Shan Masood got the Test captaincy on any merit. While talking to PTV Sports, Akhtar claimed Masood does nothing on the field as a skipper.

He added that Masood only received the nod for captaincy because he is a nice guy. Otherwise, he has no merit at all.

"They really killed the merit. He’s spot on with his captaincy. I mean, come on, for heaven’s sake, this guy does nothing on the field, absolutely nothing. He’s just a good guy, so we made him captain,” Akhtar said.

That being said, Shan Masood has proved Shoaib Akhtar right to an extent. Under his captaincy, Pakistan lost 10 out of the 14 Tests. Not only that, but the men in green were also not able to qualify for the WTC 2025 finals.

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Shan Masood’s record in Test cricket

As for his number, Shan Masood has scored 2559 runs in his 45-game-long Test career with a 30.46 average, 6 hundreds and 13 fifties.

However, the last couple of years have been ordinary for Masood. In 2025, he scored 397 runs in 10 innings at a 39.70 average. Before that, the skipper accumulated 410 runs across 14 innings at a 31.53 average.

As a captain, Shan Masood is expected to lead Pakistan from the front as a batter. However, he has lacked in that area massively. 

And with the men in green failing to produce desired results in home and away conditions, questions over his captaincy are bound to rise.

Bangladesh headed towards a draw vs Pakistan

Meanwhile, the first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh at Dhaka is heading toward a draw. After scoring 413 runs in the first inning, the hosts restricted the visitors to 386 in the second innings. 

Now, in the third innings, Bangladesh had 152/3 on the board at stumps on Day 4 with a 179-run lead in hand. With only one day left in the game, the game is unlikely to produce any result.

However, Pakistan all-rounder Salman Agha threw a challenge at Bangladesh. He said the hosts should have the courage to declare at around a 260-run lead to produce a result. 

And that if such a scenario arises, Pakistan will go for the chase and try to get a win, said Agha. Now, the ball is in Bangladesh’s court as a crucial Day 5 awaits.

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