Pakistan’s Check captain Shan Masood confronted a query from the media on Monday citing comparability of statistics between Virat Kohli and Abdullah Shafique and stated that the Pakistan opener has higher numbers in Check cricket than the Indian batting legend’s preliminary years.
Masood confronted a fiery press convention, the place the media questioned his place as a captain and number of gamers who’ve repeatedly carried out beneath requirements.
Pakistan retained Masood because the Check captain for the opening sport of dwelling sequence in opposition to England, however criticism of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and the selectors grew after the announcement of the Check squad, resulting in resignation of selector Mohammad Yousuf.
“Have we nonetheless not come out of this liking and disliking within the group?” requested a journalist. “We’re persevering with to provide these (inconsistent) gamers possibilities…Should not (batsman) Kamran Ghulam be given an opportunity to any extent further?…Be it Abdullah Shafique or Saim Ayub, the identical set of gamers are enjoying the T20s and Checks.”
The skipper replied: “With all due respect, I do not assume your query is correct…I agree that Pakistan hasn’t performed good cricket in 2024,” including that it is mistaken to combine and evaluate the performances of Checks with T20Is.
“Issues ought to be checked out objectively. You discuss stats. The opposite day I used to be studying a stat that Abdullah Shafique, who has performed 19 Checks, has a greater document than Virat Kohli,” Masood added.
The captain backed his opening batsman by evaluating his document within the 19 Checks he has performed thus far with how Kohli carried out in the identical variety of matches at the beginning of his profession.
Whereas Shafique’s numbers are undoubtedly higher than Kohli in 19 Checks, the comparability drawn by Masood grabbed eyeballs. Additionally, Shafique has performed 4 extra innings than Kohli did.
After first 19 Checks:
Virat Kohli: 32 innings, 1178 runs, 40.62 common, 4 a whole bunch, 6 fifties
Abdullah Shafique: 36 innings, 1372 rus, 40.35 common, 4 a whole bunch, 5 fifties
Pakistan’s problem in opposition to England begins with the primary Check in Multan from October 7.
(Standing Courtesy: Rajesh Kumar)
