NEW DELHI: After Pakistan’s impressive 9-wicket victory over England in the third Test, which secured a 2-1 comeback series win, captain Shan Masood had a fitting response for a journalist during the post-match conference.
When asked about his own form, Masood prioritized the team’s triumph over individual statistics, expressing his frustration at the negative framing.
“(Jeeti hai team aur aap aur usme bhi negative dekh rahe hain) The team has won, yet you’re still seeing negatives, you haven’t found anything positive,” Masood replied. “You jumped straight to that question. This is a team game, not an individual one.”
Masood highlighted the selflessness of the batting unit, explaining how they adjusted their approach to suit challenging conditions. “If you look at the nature of this ground, you’ll see that the batting unit made sacrifices. We did the same during the Bangladesh series, playing on green wickets so our scores might be lower, but we could take 20 wickets. Our focus on these pitches is also to take 20 wickets, even if it affects our scores,” he explained.
After scoring a century in the series-opening loss, Masood managed scores of 3 and 11 in the second Test and 26 and 23 in the third.
Massod reflected on the team’s approach, saying, “Your batting unit sets up a good match, and some players might score low. Rizwan and I adapted, even playing against our natural styles. I played 70 balls but needed to play 120, making it easier for our bowlers.”
“This is a team game; individual performances are valued from the team’s perspective, not individually,” he said.