Shan Masood – ‘We want to give Saim Ayub a fair chance’

“We have a lot of economy in our batting in the first game,” Masood said. “Imam-ul-Haq is not in this series. We are not limited to only 17 players. We have 20-25 players who are part of our squad. Initially we felt it was our best chance to test Muhammad Hurraraira – he can give the Pakistan team after doing so well in domestic cricket Three or four years ago we rested Imam in this series, he showed strength in the second innings against Australia, you have to send a message to continue. So we will try to support the players.

“First, you have to look at a few things,” said Masood. “You have to consider Pakistan’s place in the WTC. At least we have to win home games. Second, you have to look at the world conditions. Third, we have to look at the composition of our team.

“We took Aamer Jamal as a weapon in Australia. When the other three fast bowlers showed restraint, Aamer Jamal used to attack. He got important wickets in the middle overs. He used to finish Australia’s tail, which usually makes the difference by hitting 80 -90 runs like Shaheen [Shah Afridi] and Naseem [Shah] he will take the new ball, we were looking for someone to bowl like Aamer Jamal. I think Mohammad Ali gave us something surprising in PSL but we have seen it for a long time. He hits the deck hard. He has the ability to move the ball seamlessly and in space. He’s got more speed too.”

Having not reached the finals in the last two editions of the WTC, Pakistan will be hoping to end this streak and bring joy to their fans.

“I think you want your fans and the media to write good things about the team,” said Masood. “We want to play cricket that everybody likes. It’s obviously a results-oriented business so you have to have results in mind. We were sixth and seventh before that. [in the WTC]but we would like to play in the final this time. We want to play in the final. We have to win our home Tests. Our challenge is to play consistently and play an exciting form of cricket.”

The first Test against Bangladesh will also be Pakistan’s first under coach Jason Gillespie. Masood wanted the new way of labor to be compatible with power in Pakistan. “We have a different coaching staff,” he said. “They bring a different mentality and culture but we also have to look at where we have to go as a team. I think fast bowling has been Pakistan’s strength. We have six fast bowlers. You need 20 wickets to win a Test. That’s our aim to get those 20 wickets and the batsmen can supporting the bowlers That’s how we got into the Australian series.