Shan Masood has backed his former captain Babar Azam to come good as Pakistan prepare to take on Australia down under. The Pakistan Test captain believes the break to Babar will help him regain his form in international cricket.
"I think he's one of the best batsmen in the world. I'm nobody to [say he doesn't have] a future," Masood told the BBC Stumped radio programme. "He has every quality to be one of the greatest batsmen in Test cricket. He's always there or thereabouts in the rankings. Sometimes, people need a break."
"I think this break will do him a great deal of benefit and he'll come back a stronger player," Masood added. "There's no harm in being pulled out at times and having a breather. He's played a lot of cricket and gone through a lot, and he'll always be one of the main batsmen to play for Pakistan."
Notably, Babar last scored a century in May 2023 in an ODI game against New Zealand. Therefore the upcoming ODI series against Australia will be very crucial for him and will very likely determine his place in the side.
Masood also opened up on playing the second Test in Multan on a surface that was used for the first match of the series. Masood said the decision was taken to bring the Pakistan spinners into play.
"We thought playing on a used pitch, playing three spinners - that, we thought, would benefit us greatly. I've worked with three different setups in my tenure so far. My first series in Australia was different, the Bangladesh series was different, and then we've had this group of people that were involved in selection and leadership. I've been on the same page with them so far. At the end of the day, it's about Pakistan cricket, and we're very fortunate that the entire collective came together."
