Pakistan are likely to retain Shan Masood as their Test captain for the upcoming Test series against England despite his poor start at the helm, news agency PTI reported. Pakistan are set to host England in a three-match Test series from October 7 onwards. Moreover, Babar Azam has been assured of keeping his white-ball captaincy when the team leaves for shite-ball assignments against Australia and South Africa later in the year.
Pakistan have lost all five Test matches under Masood's captaincy. They were whitewashed by Australia 3-0 away from home before a 2-0 loss to Bangladesh at home. As per the PTI report, Masood is set to hold discussions with red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie and national selectors, Muhammad Yousuf and Asad Shafiq, this week to make a plan for the England series.
England travelled to Pakistan during the 2022/23 season and whitewashed the Men in Green by 3-0 in the series. Notably, there aren't many changes expected in the Pakistan team from the Bangladesh series for three Tests against England, a source said. "While white-ball head coach, Gary Kirsten has identified some new young players from the Champions Cup for T20 and ODI sides, Gillespie and high-performance coach, Tim Nielsen, have still not made up their mind on any new probables for the Test series against England," the source said.
PCB to form panel for conduit between players and management
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday organised a connection camp. The PCB has decided to form a two-member independent panel which will act as a conduit between the national team players, management and the board. The aim behind forming the panel is to provide a bridge for better communication. The panel will act as a bridge between players, management, and different departments of the PCB.
Notably, the PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has assured the players that there would be no imminent changes in the team and they should be focusing on their performances. "He (Naqvi) basically told the players that whoever the board had as captains the players must support them and play as one regardless of the format," a source said
