New Delhi: Shan Masood, Pakistan’s captain faced the media music as the Men in Green gear up for the mega task of facing the three Lions in a week. The team has been surrounded by enormous scrutiny after they failed to capitalise in familiar conditions against the Bangladeshi test side. Naturally, when Masood sat in front of the media, questions were hurled towards the Pakistani captain at a ferocious speed.
PCB Director of Media and Communication, Sami ul Hasan, scolded Javed Iqbal, the journalist who misbehaved with Shan Masood, and asked him to show respect. pic.twitter.com/dS1lKCJHoR
— 𝙎𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙞 (@CallMeSheri1) September 30, 2024
However, seeing the intensity of the scrutiny, PCB’s media manager Sami ul Hasan decided to halt the interrogation in between and gave a stern warning to the journalists. In the eyes of Hasan, the questions directed towards Masood were not simple questions but harsh interrogations which were done with an ulterior motive.
Interrupting the press conference, Hasan told-
One final request – in a humble manner – Pakistan’s captain is sitting here. You can definitely ask questions, but please show respect…
You Cannot Compare Batting Averages of Openers with the Middle Order Batters: Shan Masood. pic.twitter.com/tB526oS3mD
— Cricket Now (@RealCricketNow) October 1, 2024
Furthermore, Hasan signalled to the journalist and asked him to be courteous at the same time. The PCB media manager also reminded the journalist that he was talking to the Pakistani skipper and not some passerby.
What was the ‘controversy’?
Masood’s controversy started when the Pakistani skipper was asked to reflect on the struggling form of the former and do some much-needed ramifications in his batting lineup. The journalist had asked Masood-
You say that as long as you’re given the opportunity…you will continue. But doesn’t your conscience and self-respect ever tell you that you’re losing…?
Test Batting Average for Pak in last 2 yrs(Min. 10 innings):
1) Saud Shakeel= 56.30
2) Mohd. Rizwan= 52.15
3) Agha Salman = 47.00
4) Imam-ul-haq = 42.50
5) Babar Azam = 36.52
6) Abdullah Shafique = 27.65
7) Shan Masood = 26.57#CricketTwitter #CricketUpdates #StatsAlert pic.twitter.com/Y6jwLRAHw9— Cric-Updates (@GuessWh98609542) October 1, 2024
Pakistan cricket in a DROWNING WHIRPOOL!!
The Pakistan Cricket team which was once the dominant force in Asia has receded into oblivion in recent years. Barring the U19 success and the ICC Champions Trophy success, the Pakistani cricket team has not been able to materialise any significant cricketing glory.
The precarious condition of the state of Pakistani cricket has been pointed out by many former cricketers like Kamran Akmal and Ahmad Shehzad. To add to the misery, the revenue streams have stopped trickling down into Pakistani cricket. In such a precarious condition, the larger question is will Pakistan cricket slip into oblivion like Kenyan cricket?