Shan and Pakistan hope for Test reset

Test captain Shan Masood was handed the reins of the Test side late last year as the Green Team reeled from one controversy after another. Then, too, it was a failed World Cup campaign that had sparked the commotion.

The situation is all too familiar for him.

It has taken nine months for Shan to be back in the limelight — one of the gifts of the ever-dwindling space for Test cricket in Pakistan’s international calendar — and the country’s cricket, once again, has been rocked by an abysmal World Cup campaign.

But, unlike his first assignment in Australia, the Pakistan captain finds himself under immense pressure of expectations this time.

In his first Test series at home, Shan is leading Pakistan in what should be a rather straightforward challenge against Bangladesh in a two-Test series, starting on Wednesday.

Why should this be a straightforward challenge? It is their previous record.

Pakistan have won 12 out of the 13 Tests against Bangladesh with the remaining ending in a draw. They last faced off in Bangladesh in 2021 and Pakistan rolled over the hosts by eight wickets at Chattogram at Mirpur.

But, there is always an element of uncertainty involved when it is Pakistan.

Pakistan have had a disastrous home record over the past three years as since their series win over South Africa in February 2021 — which, by the way, feels a long time back — they have not won a single Test at home.

Four of the eight Tests have resulted in losses and the other four have ended in draws.

Pakistan need a Test rest.

And, while it was not possible to achieve it Down Under, Pakistan now have an opportunity to find a template for success at home, something that has eluded them over the past several series.

Shan is one of the most astute minds in Pakistan cricket.

He, with Jason Gillespie on his side, was vocal about the need to find a method of success at home in the podcast that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released recently.

He wants to have a Test fortress, where Pakistan can roll over opposition for fun.

But, Pakistan will have to do away with their current Test cricket mentally. The wheels seem to be in motion.

In his pre-series press conference on the eve of the first Test, Shan harped on the prerequisite of bowling out the opposition twice to be the contenders. Over the last eight Tests at home, Pakistan have dismissed the opposition only seven times.

When Test cricket was returning home at the turn of the decade, Pakistan realised that their spin bowling stocks were depleting. So, Pakistan relied on their fast bowlers to deliver.

The pacers obliged in the form of Shaheen’s first-innings five-for against Sri Lanka at Karachi, Naseem’s five-for in the second innings of the same Test or his hattrick against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, and Hasan Ali’s match 10-fer in his comeback Test series in early 2021.

Pakistan’s fast bowlers took 11 wickets per Test at an average of 24.29 at home from the time the format made its return until when they started to roll out sluggish, flat surfaces since the first Test against Australia.

Since that day, their fast bowlers have taken only 37 wickets in eight matches at a towering average of 54.02 — more than twice at which they used to dismiss the batters.

The bowling strike rate — the number of balls it takes to take a wicket — has also taken a severe hit as it has fallen from 49.4 to 89.5.

There are many factors at play here.

Of course, the unconducive surfaces rank at the top. Then there is an element of injuries because of which Shaheen Afridi had to sit out the entire 2022-23 season and Naseem Shah had to be benched for the last two England Tests.

That Australia and England’s batting line-ups are superior to those of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh is also a factor, but Pakistan dismissed a pretty solid batting line-up of South Africa between the scores of 220 and 298 in early 2021 underscores that the bowlers need the pitches to support them.

When Shan has his premier fast bowlers available, he wants to unleash them against Bangladesh on a spicy Rawalpindi surface.

But, whether the experiment will pan out exactly how Pakistan wants remains to be seen as summers in Pakistan continue to get fierce and the pitches may flat out as the match progresses.

That’s where Pakistan may miss Abrar Ahmed, the mystery spinner and the sole specialist spin option in the originally announced 17-player could, who is now with Pakistan Shaheens for the second first-class match against Bangladesh A.

Regardless of the format, Pakistan’s batting has remained under scrutiny because of their sluggish scoring rates.

In limited-overs cricket, batters have generally been unable to set challenging scores for the opposition and in the longer form of the game, they have not provided ample scores and time to dismiss the opposition.

Take the example of England. On their first day of Test cricket in Pakistan, the ‘bazzballers’ racked up 657 in 101 overs on a flat surface to prolong the five-day game instead of batting throughout six to seven sessions.

Teams over the years have improved their scoring rates in Test cricket in search of results.

But, Pakistan remained committed to the ultra-conservative brand.

Perhaps, that had been the strategy all along to play at home, considering the pitches that they rolled out. But, the results only go on to underscore that that game plan has not held them in good stead.

Since the start of 2022, Pakistan has had the 10th worst run rate (3.04) for a team in home Tests. They are only ahead of Zimbabwe (2.99) and West Indies (2.58).

That Shan is at the helm may change that. The left-hander has made a point of being attacking in his approach in Test cricket and has been accumulating runs at the strike rate of 72.33 since December 2022 — when he marked his return to the Test side.

He was the poster boy of the side’s ‘The Pakistan Way’ approach to Test cricket, which saw the team play a more attacking brand of cricket and score at quicker rates.

It helped Pakistan thrash Sri Lanka 2-0 in Sri Lanka in the summer of 2023, but the PCB, very successfully, dismantled that set-up by removing one member of the coaching staff after another.

Pakistan play nine Tests in the next four months.

They host three teams for seven of those and that would make it Pakistan’s second busiest home season ever.

They wear whites for the first time since January and after the second Test against West Indies in January will not play another for 10 months.

These next four months serve Shan a rare opportunity to establish himself and his team.