Saim showed potential against Australia, want to give him a fair chance: Masood

Pakistan’s new era under Jason Gillespie will start with a two-match Test series against Bangladesh. 

Ahead of the series, which begins on August 21, the major question was who will open the batting alongside Abdullah Shafique for Pakistan. While there were calls for the prolific run-scorer Muhammad Hurraira to be fast-tracked into the national side, their skipper Shan Masood had a different thought. 

Masood insisted that they wanted to give the 22-year-old Saim Ayub a long rope in the longest format before looking at other options. 

"Imam-ul-Haq isn't in this series. We don't limit ourselves to 17 players. We have 20-25 players who are part of our squad. We initially felt that it was our ideal chance to check Muhammad Hurraira - what he could offer the Pakistan team after doing so well in domestic cricket in the last three or four years. We rested Imam in this series,” Masood said ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh. 

“Saim, who is in good touch now, showed potential in the second innings against Australia. As a team, you have to send a message of continuity. So we will try to back the players. We want to give him a fair chance."

For the first time in the 21st century, Pakistan will go with an all-pace attack at home, with the inclusion of Mohammad Ali as the third pacer in the setup, alongside Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi. 

What was the reason behind it? 

"Firstly, you have to look at a few factors. You have to take into account Pakistan's position in the WTC. We at least have to win the home matches. Secondly, you have to look at the ground conditions. Thirdly, we have to look at our team combination,” Masood said. 

"We considered Aamer Jamal as a weapon in Australia. When the other three fast bowlers showed discipline, Aamer Jamal used to attack. He got crucial wickets in the middle overs. He used to eliminate Australia's tail, which usually makes the difference by scoring 80-90 runs,” he added. 

Given that both Naseem and Shaheen are primarily new-ball bowlers, Masood insisted that picking Ali gave them a pace option during the middle overs. 

“As Shaheen [Afridi] and Naseem [Shah] will take the new ball, we wanted someone to bowl like Aamer Jamal. I think Mohammad Ali gave us the surprise element in the PSL, but we have been seeing it for a long time. He hits the deck hard. He has the quality to move the ball with the seam and in the air. He has extra pace, too,” he said. 

However, that doesn’t change the fact that Masood wants his bowling unit to take all 20 wickets in a Test. 

"They bring a different mindset and culture, but we also have to look at where we have to go as a side. I think fast bowling has been Pakistan's strength. We have six quality fast bowlers. You need 20 wickets to win a Test. That's a non-negotiable. Our goal is to get those 20 wickets, and then batters can back up the bowlers. That's how we went into the Australia series, and that's how we will go into this series."

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