RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has set his sights on next year’s World Test Championship (WTC) final as the national side prepares to host seven red-ball matches in the busy upcoming home season.

Having won two Tests against Sri Lanka and facing defeat in three against Australia in their Championship campaign so far, Pakistan are set to face Bangladesh in two matches to open their season before they host England for three games in October.

They will play the West Indies in two Tests early next year at home after returning from their tour of South Africa, which would feature as many red-ball games.

Shan is looking at the seven Test matches at home as an “exciting opportunity” to take a shot at the WTC final, which is set to be held at Lord’s in June next year.

“There is still a lot to play for in the World Test Championship,” Shan said during a press conference here at the Pindi Cricket Stadium on Sunday, as the national team’s preparatory camp for the Bangladesh series started.

“The top two places can still go to any side,” the Test skipper noted. “Our effort will be to focus on the home advantage and the seven Test matches. Every Test match matters.”

The Pakistan camp was run by two sets of team management staff and captains in each of their two series in their WTC campaign so far — Babar Azam leading the side in the Sri Lanka series before Shan replaced him ahead of the Australia tour following a disastrous World Cup campaign in India last year.

While Shan will carry on his captaincy duties, Pakistan will have yet another new head coach in former Australian pacer Jason Gillespie — Grant Bradburn had the role against Sri Lanka and Mohammad Hafeez acting as coach in Australia.

Gillespie, however, was appointed three months ahead of the Bangladesh series, giving him the time to prepare for the season.

Shan believed that was a good move by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), as it helped him and Gillespie to identify the issues being paced by the national Test side, which led to the arrangement of Pakistan Shaheens’ matches against Bangladesh ‘A’ as well as the identification of a potential pool of players to increase the squad’s depth.

“I think, over time, since the World Cup, the previous selection committee, we had started meetings for this series,” revealed the top-order batter. “The PCB’s initiative to start planning three months in advance was a good move. Things were identified early on.”

Pakistan’s 17-member squad for the Bangladesh series includes a number of players who have done well in the domestic circuit over the past few seasons, but the team’s core remains similar to the one that featured against Sri Lanka and Australia.

The consistency in selection, Shan noted, would help Pakistan carry on with an attacking mindset, that they displayed against the Sri Lankans and showed glimpses of Down Under.

“We’re carrying forward almost the same players,” he said. “So, I don’t think the mindset will change much.

“If we want to compete in the World Test Championship, we have to win. To win, you obviously need to show intent in every department—batting, bowling, or fielding.”

As the Test rankings suggest, Bangladesh should definitely be easy opponents for Pakistan, for whom a 2-0 series win must be the target. But Shan said he and his men will not take the visitors lightly.

“Bangladesh will not be taken lightly; they have many experienced players who play around the world,” the 34-year-old observed. “Our aim is to prepare for conditions that suit our style of cricket and play in a manner that makes our fans happy and demonstrates that Pakistan is playing great Test cricket.”

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2024