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Shan Masood is one of the most dependable players in Pakistan’s red-ball team. However, after the last tour of New Zealand, he was dropped for the test side due to some poor performances. But that is not the most talked-about thing in Pakistan Cricket these days. There are discussions about his selection in limited-overs cricket.
A Flashback to Shan Masood’s Career
The opener has an average record in red-ball cricket. He has played around 25 test matches, averaging 29.31 with the highest score of 156 in England. As far as 50-over matches are concerned the batter has played 5 matches till now with only 1 fifty to his name. His strike rate is 76.55 and the average is 22.20. However, Pakistan lost all 5 matches to Australia.
However, in PSL 2022, Shan Masood played 12 matches, scoring 478 runs with an exciting strike rate of 139. If compared with Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam his strike rate was better in PSL. Similarly, he also scored a handsome amount of runs in PSL 2021 along with Captain Rizwan. This helped Multan Sultans to be crowned Champions.
Recently he has been performing very well in vitality Blast for his team as well. This proves he is in some form in red-ball cricket. But the question arises, can he fit himself in Pakistan’s top order in white-ball cricket. Recently Pakistan has been very successful in limited-overs cricket. Mainly because of its heavy top order in both T20I’s and ODI’s.
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Shan Masood in White Ball Cricket
In 50-over cricket, Pakistan has a formidable top order comprising Imam Ul Haq, Babar, Fakhar Zaman, and Rizwan. Fakhar and Rizwan have struggled recently in ODIs but still, they are very important for the team and cannot be replaced. They all have better averages and strike rates than Shan Masood.
In the case of T20I cricket Rizwan, Babar and Fakhar are the top three batsmen who have scored heavily for Pakistan at this level as happened in the recently concluded T20 world cup. Here again, PCB cannot change the combination because they have brought a lot of success to Pakistan.
In the T20 team, Shan Masood can be slotted at the no. 4 position but his performances have been mostly in the top order. To cement that place, he has to prove himself at the no. 4 position.
However, he can be used as a replacement player if someone in the top order gets injured or if someone needs rest. So it’s fair to say that Shan Masood finds himself in a competitive era where Pakistan has been blessed with outstanding top-order cricketers like Imam Ul Haq, Babar, Rizwan, and Fakhar. Many still waiting for their chances like Sharjeel Khan who is another destructive top-order batter.
Written by Zain ul Hassan and Waleed Qadir
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