Pakistan’s Test captain, Shan Masood, dismissed any allegations of match-fixing within the team before their upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh. It’s worth noting that since Pakistan’s poor performance in the T20 World Cup, there have been many reports about divisions within the team’s locker room.
Following these reports, a journalist asked Masood what advice he would give to his team members after Arshad Nadeem’s historic gold medal win at the Olympics. The journalist pointed out that achieving success for the country can bring players more rewards than they could ever earn through match-fixing or other illegal activities.
Responding to the question, Masood stated that he cannot doubt anyone’s intentions within the team because everyone is focused on winning matches for Pakistan. He emphasized the need to leave past performances behind, as the goal remains to win matches for Pakistan.
“I can’t question anyone’s intentions, especially when you mention match fixing. I don’t believe anyone in the current Pakistan cricket setup would question their integrity. I completely disagree with that notion. Also, the World Cup is behind us now, and we must look to the future. I can assure you that all our players are dedicated to winning matches for Pakistan, although there are wins and losses. We are deeply saddened whenever we lose,” Masood explained during the pre-match press conference.
Continuing, Masood praised Arshad Nadeem as a national hero and expressed the team’s desire to bring joy to the people, just like Nadeem does.
“When you mentioned Arshad Nadeem, he is a national hero. His recent achievements have made him even more prominent, and we are very pleased about that. We will draw inspiration from Arshad Nadeem’s success and hope to bring more honor to Pakistan,” he said.
Pakistan will face Bangladesh in a two-match Test series starting on Wednesday, August 21, at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced a 17-member squad for the series and has appointed Saud Shakeel as the new Test vice-captain, replacing Shaheen Afridi. Young fast bowler Naseem Shah will return to the Test team along with Mohammad Ali after a long absence. Meanwhile, Bangladesh will arrive in Pakistan four days earlier than planned to prepare for the series due to the ongoing political turmoil in their country.
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal (subject to Fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Afridi
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