IT is going from bad to worse for Shan Masood and Pakistan. It is now seven successive Test defeats away from home; their joint-worst streak, and 12 defeats in 16 games for Shan as captain; the second-most for a Pakistan skipper, behind Misbah-ul-Haq’s 19 in 56 matches. Following their loss to Bangladesh in the second Test in Sylhet, Pakistan also became the first team to be whitewashed in successive series of two or more matches by Bangladesh. The loss followed a pattern under Shan, where Pakistan seem to lose their way after being in a position of strength. His men had Bangladesh on the ropes at 116-6 before they allowed Litton Das to take the game away with a century. Bangladesh, who had won the first Test by 104 runs, ended up winning the second by 78. Bangladesh had also won the previous series 2-0 in Pakistan in 2024 — statistics that make grim reading for Shan, who called for ‘structural changes’ in order to improve the team’s fortunes. There was once again a call for not repeating past mistakes, about pursuing long-term planning, instead of short-term fixes, with Shan stating that a decision on his captaincy would be taken by the Pakistan Cricket Board.

Already there are rumours of Shan being replaced in the two-Test series in the West Indies which begins in July. After Pakistan lost the first match against Bangladesh, reports suggested that Babar Azam will return to the team as captain. The batting superstar had missed the opening Test due to an injury and although he made a quick-fire 47 in the second innings, after a 68-run knock in the first, he could not help his side cross the line. There were some bright spots for Pakistan with pacer Khurram Shahzad taking eight wickets in the match. Mohammad Rizwan made 94 while Salman Ali Agha and Shan scored 71 each in Pakistan’s second innings, while they were chasing an improbable 437 to win. Pakistan now need to make a decision. The experiment of handing Shan the captaincy has not produced the desired results and fans are looking up to the PCB, more than ever, to turn things around for Pakistan cricket.

Published in Dawn, May 23rd, 2026