Pak vs Aus: Shan backs Babar, opens up about Shaheen’s workload

Pakistan’s fielding during the tour has been abysmal as some catch drops cost them the match and Shan wasn’t unaware of that. The 34-year-old shared his two cents on his team’s fielding, especially at the slips.

“In a game, your hands are tied because slips are very specialised. A lot of fielding places in Test cricket are very specialised. We had four genuine quick bowlers, so it was hard to get them into the slips. And then Abdullah Shafique has been a good slipsman for us and those are the guys that practise for hours every day,” Masood said.

Masood also revealed that he could use Babar Azam at the slips as the 29-year-old had previously done his job decently at that position.

“He’s a brilliant slips fielder. He’s got age on his side. But I think if he doesn’t feel comfortable, Babar is a decent first slipper,” he added.

The newly-appointed red-ball captain also weighed in on Babar’s form as the right-handed batter failed to provide his side a breakthrough with the bat saying that Azam is Pakistan’s main player and there are no concerns over him.

“Babar Azam is our main player. We have no concerns over his performance. His approach is positive. He is practising for hours in the nets and has great fitness. I am looking forward to him scoring big in the Sydney Test,” Masood said.

Pacer Shaheen Afridi has been rested for the third Test as spinner Sajid Khan will take his pace, Shan revealed that the reason behind resting the left-armer was that he has bowled a lot in recent time and the management wanted to oversee his workload.

“Shaheen Afridi has bowled most overs in world cricket in recent times. He gives his 150% in the training sessions as well. He keeps motivating his teammates. He is our main player. We’ll make sure we look after Shaheen Afridi really well,” Masood concluded.