KARACHI: Shan Masood, the Southern Punjab captain, admitted here on Friday that though his side had some difficulties in adjusting and playing together, a good team combination has now been formed and hopefully his team will achieve more success in the matches ahead.

He said this while speaking to the media ahead of the team’s important clash against Sindh in the fourth round of Quaid-e-Azam Trophy here at the UBL Sports Complex.

Shan said that the team has now got a good combination but it has taken it some time to gel together because the ongoing season started off suddenly and players had very less time for preparation. “We have played three games and will now try to make the most of that very experience going into the fourth game. We will try to win this game so that when the T20 tournament ends we have a winning momentum with us,” said the 29-year-old opening batsman.

Speaking about the team’s and individual performances, the southpaw said: “Whilst we have had some good individual performances, I don’t think we have had any one standout performance so far apart from the one that came from Sami Aslam in the first match.”

When asked how he rates his own performance in the QA Trophy so far, Shan admitted: “I have failed to capitalise on good starts on a couple of occasions. One needs to play a few long innings to get into the groove and I will try to make the most of the opportunities I get from now on.”

Regarding the team combination, Shan said that having two all-rounders gives his team an advantage when it comes to batting and bowling space in the side. “We know that the conditions have been favouring the batsmen which is why we have played with five regular batsmen, whereas our sixth batsman is our wicket-keeper. We have slotted in two all-rounders in the team. The luxury of having all-rounders in your side allows you to go in with five bowlers because you can’t win 4-day games without taking 20 wickets,” said Shan.

Shan, who has enjoyed playing at the UBL Sports Complex, said: “It’s always good to have the experience of playing at a specific ground because then you are in a better position to understand the ground dimensions and the nature of the pitch. I will try to share with my team mates my experience of playing first-class cricket here. We are playing against a very good Sindh side which also happens to have players who have played a lot of cricket here. So, I don’t think there is an advantage in anyone’s favour.”

When asked about his team’s chances in the upcoming National T20 Tourn­ament, the Southern Punjab skipper sounded confident and said: “We will get four days time from Oct 8 – 12 to prepare for white ball cricket. Shoaib Malik, Muhammad Hafeez and Wahab Riaz are also expected to come back and join the team. So, I have a lot of hopes from my white-ball team. On-paper, our team is fully capable of winning the National T20 Tournament. There are six matches including the final, so, if we get a good start and keep up the momentum, I have no doubts we will win the tournament.”

Published in Dawn, October 5th, 2019