'It's not just about Babar Azam' - Pakistan Skipper Shan Masood Calls For Consistency in Selection

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood said that there needs to be 'consistency' in team selection as a player will perform better with more chance after the Test series loss to Bangladesh on Tuesday (September 3).

Pakistan conceded a six-wicket defeat against Bangladesh in the second Test match in Rawalpindi to lose the home Test series 0-2 after losing the series opener at the same venue by 10 wickets last month.

The Pakistan batting unit failed in three of four innings the two Tests. Mohammad Rizwan scored a total of 294 runs in the series, including a hundred in the first Test, while Saud Shakeel amassed 194 runs with one century.

However, the likes of Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique and skipper Masood all failed to step up, costing Pakistan the series. Babar scored 64 across four innings with the highest of 31.

Masood, who fell cheaply in the first Test, contributed in the second Test, scoring 57 in the first innings, and 28 in the second innings. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Masood pointed out the problems while selecting a player and cried about the small pool of players.

"We will have to work on bringing in consistency in selection. You will have to bear with player's failures. It's not just about Babar Azam, the more consistently you give a chance to someone, the better he will perform," Masood said.

"You will have to search where you will get that player who can be an automatic selection on current form. Since, we're not playing red ball cricket currently, we don't have many options to pick from. We played the same team which we took to Australia and was successful for Pakistan domestically and at international level."

The Pakistan skipper also added that he is not too worried about his captaincy being taken away after the series loss against Bangladesh.

"I am not worried for my job security. I took this job to make the changes we believe will help this team. If I believe this team can go in a certain direction, even if my personal failure takes Pakistan in that direction, I will be content. However much time I get I'll be grateful for and do my best," he added.

The 10-wicket victory in the first match marked Bangladesh's maiden Test win over Pakistan. A repeat of this performance in the second Test solidified a historic achievement for the team.

This series victory is also Bangladesh's first Test series win (of two matches or more) against a team other than Zimbabwe and the West Indies, according to the ICC.

The win has boosted Bangladesh in the ICC World Test Championship standings, propelling them to No. 4 with a points percentage of 45.83, leapfrogging England.

Beginning the fifth day on 42/0, needing 143 more runs to win, Bangladesh got off to a steady start, inching towards the modest target without taking too many risks. They added another 80 runs in the morning session but lost both openers within the space of 12 runs.

Despite the wickets, the experienced duo of Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque put together a 57-run stand to keep the visitors on track. Shanto was dismissed soon after lunch for 38, and Mominul perished for 34, causing Bangladesh to stutter slightly towards the end.

However, the veteran pair of Mushfiqur Rahim (22*) and Shakib Al Hasan (21*) persisted and guided Bangladesh over the line without further hiccups.