Cricket World Cup 2023 is over. Following the end of the mega event, the Pakistan cricket team has different captains across all formats. Before the appointment of new captains, Babar Azam was the captain of the Test cricket team. This is a really big change that cricket experts are taking time to comprehend. In the longest format of the game, the captaincy matters tremendously. Shan Masood is the captain of the Pakistan side in the Test cricket format. He is going to captain the team in the upcoming Pakistan vs Australia Test series. This is going to be a really tough tour for the Pakistani side. Australia is the champion team in their home conditions. Babar Azam vs Shan Masood Test captaincy is debatable due to the recent appointment of Babar Azam.
The upcoming Test series vs Australia is going to be the first appointment of Shan Masood as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team. With a completely new management, it would be really interesting to see how well the Pakistan cricket team adjusts to the modern-era cricket conditions. Babar Azam is going to play as a player in the upcoming Test series.
The Pakistan vs Australia Test series holds great significance due to the factor of the ICC World Test Championship. There is great excitement around this series. However, the Pakistan cricket team needs to be spot on with their planning and execution to give a tough time to the Australian side. During the test series, the Babar Azam vs Shan Masood Test captaincy debate would surely be there. It would be really interesting to find out how well Shan Masood performs as the leader of the side. This Test series could be really epic!
Babar Azam vs Shan Masood Test Captaincy: The Player Debate
Babar Azam was the old captain of the Test team. Now Shan Masood is appointed as the captain of the Pakistan cricket team in the longest format of the game, there are some questions which are revolving around his appointment. According to the best online cricket news sites in Australia, the statistics of Shan Masood in the Test cricket format are not really great.
Shan Masood has a batting average of 28 in the Test cricket format. On the other hand, Babar Azam has a batting average of 45+ in the longest format of the game. This is why Babar Azam vs Shan Masood Test captaincy is a hot debate in the longest format of the game. According to cricket experts, the player who has a great batting average should be the leader of the Pakistan Test cricket team.
In the opening slot, there are some uncertainties that revolve around the inclusion of the side. The opening slots of the Pakistan Test team are not settled yet. Shan Masood is a new entrant and there are lots of expectations around him. All the other Test cricket leaders have great averages in their respective departments. This is the time for Shan Masood to show his mettle on the ground. This is the time to settle the debate by scoring a tremendous amount of runs in the longest format of the game. In that way, Shan Masood vs Babar Azam Test captaincy debate could really settle.
Babar Azam Test Captaincy Record
In the Test cricket format, the captaincy of Babar Azam has been criticized tremendously in recent times. According to the cricket experts, Babar Azam could not perform according to the expectations. Pakistan had a great chance of qualifying for the final of the World Test Championship.
All the games in the Test cricket format against the best Test sides were in the home conditions. Babar Azam could not capitalize and Australia and England won the Test series in Pakistan. The highlight of the Babar Azam Test captaincy was the performance vs South Africa.
Pakistan defeated South Africa by 2-0 when the side visited Pakistan for a Test series. It was surely a scintillating performance from the Pakistan cricket team. It was the time when cricket experts evaluated that the Pakistan cricket team was not set in the longest format of the game. However, the recent Test series results vs Australia and England sparked the demand for the captaincy change in the Test cricket format. Now the captain of the Pakistan Test team has changed, there are debates about whether Shan Masood is a better option or not. This is really interesting! Following the Pakistan vs Australia 2024 Test series, we could really see how things are going.
Shan Masood First-Class Captaincy: The County Journey
Shan Masood has a great reputation as a First-Class cricketer in county cricket. There are compliments for how well he performs in the longest format of the game. Masood has a distinct aura when he leads the side in the longest format of the game. There is a reason why Micky Arthur has trust in him in the longest format of the game. Shan Masood is surely one of the sound batsmen when he plays according to the technical standards. Furthermore, the stint of Shan Masood as the captain of Multan Sultans was really impressive. He did lead the side really well and showed why he could become the captain of the Pakistan cricket team in the future. The leadership skills of Shan Masood are phenomenal.
The change could actually work for Pakistan. Furthermore, Shan Masood is a cricketer who leads the side composedly on the field. We have seen his sharp cricketing mind where he makes the tactics in a spectacular way to demonstrate his command on the field. Shan Masood is a cricketer who comes up with a plan on the field. He is the player who develops the complete framework before walking out to the field to execute the plan. He is a great tactical mind. If Shan Masood lives up to he hype and keeps performing as the captain, it could benefit Pakistan tremendously in the future. The only thing that is holding the debate of Shan Masood vs Babar Azam Test captaincy is the batting record of Shan Masood.
Shan Masood vs Babar Azam Test Captaincy: Leadership Styles
According to cricket experts, the approach of Babar Azam as the captain in the longest format of the game is not defensive. He follows the style of defensiveness in the longest format of the game. However, this argument is pretty much debatable if we look at the bigger picture. In the past history, the Pakistan Test cricket team was really successful due to the captaincy tactics of Misbah-ul-Haq. It was really difficult to defeat the Pakistan cricket team under the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq. The leadership style of Misbah-ul-Haq was defensive in the Test cricket format. He did not try to dominate the opposition attacking the opposition with his approach on the field. However, Misbah-ul-Haq was amazing.
Babar Azam joined the circuit of Test captaincy when the dynamics of the game have certainly changed. In modern-era cricket, the teams now prefer to have a captain who can lead the side in a revolutionary manner. Bazzball has completely changed the way teams view the format of Test cricket.
The performance of the Pakistan cricket team in the home series sparked the debate over Babar Azam’s removal from captaincy. In the T20 cricket format, Babar Azam often opts for the path the defensiveness. This is the approach that is not really working in the modern-era cricket circuit.
On the other hand, Shan Masood follows the methodology of balance in the circuit. He is neither aggressive nor defensive on the field with his captaincy approach. In the Test cricket format, you need a player who can follow a balanced approach. The player who can lead the side from the front and not follow the approach of self-destructiveness on the field. This is why the captaincy of Shan Masood could really be a plus point for the Pakistan cricket team.
Shan vs Babar: Who is Better?
It would be immensely difficult to give the final verdict at this time. Both Babar Azam and Shan Masood are really skilled in their respective roles. In the upcoming Pakistan vs Australia Test series, it would be interesting to find out which player is better on the field as far as the role of leadership is concerned. Are you excited about the upcoming Pakistan vs Australia Test series? Do you want to follow the complete fixtures of this series? Are you interested to know the complete statistics of both Babar Azam and Shan Masood, who are really great batters in modern-era cricket? Do you want to find that out? If yes, then you could go to the best online cricket news sites in Australia to find out the information.
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