CRITICISM has already set in. Writing in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald, former Australia cricket captain Greg Chappell has said that Pakistan skipper Shan Masood will be “pleased if his team shows the fighting spirit of a cornered alley cat” in the upcoming Test series Down Under. Chappell was referring to the ‘cornered tigers’ mentality made famous by Imran Khan when he led Pakistan to the World Cup in 1992, noting that the team tends to “over-promise and under-deliver”. This is Shan’s first Test series as captain; he was appointed last month after Babar Azam stepped down as all-format skipper following the ODI World Cup. Australia, that won the World Test Championship, however, offer the sternest of tests. Pakistan have never won a Test series in Australia so at least Shan isn’t carrying the burden of expectations. Just three Pakistan captains have won a Test in Australia. Pakistan are currently on a 14-match losing streak — their last win was in November 1995. It is a tough ask for them to break that streak, considering that Pakistan are still missing speedster Naseem Shah due to injury while pacer Haris Rauf opted not to play. Thankfully, Shan has been advocating that his side should try to play ‘attractive’ cricket, while taking the results as a by-product. The PCB announced on Wednesday that pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi, who has been appointed captain of the Pakistan T20 team, will be Shan’s deputy.

As captains of their respective T20 franchises in the Pakistan Super League, both Shan and Shaheen have shown an aggressive approach. Shan showed his ability to lead from the front in the tour match against Australia’s Prime Minister XI when he scored a double ton. Australia are looking to cap the year on a winning high, months after claiming the World Cup. On home ground, they will come down hard on Pakistan. The latter would be best served fighting fire with fire.

Published in Dawn, December 14th, 2023