Shan Masood reveals roadmap for Pakistan to reach WTC final

Pakistan’s Test cricket captain, Shan Masood, has shared his ambitions and strategic perspectives aimed at guiding the national team to the final of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-2025.

During an interview with Wisden Cricket Monthly, Masood revealed his desire to captain the Pakistan team in a Test match against arch-rivals India, irrespective of the venue or the occasion.

“If we have a Test match in Pakistan or in India, even the Ahmedabad ground, or we play in Pakistan or in a neutral venue, I reckon an India v Pakistan match could sell out any venue in the world. It’d be great," Masood said.

“You want to play the best teams in the world and India is certainly one of the best, especially when it comes to Test cricket. We just saw a very exciting India versus England series. I would love for that (India v Pakistan) to happen. It’d be a great honour to lead Pakistan against India,” he added.

Masood harbors hope for a revival of this storied rivalry, particularly through the avenue of the World Test Championship (WTC).

“At the moment it doesn’t look likely, but you never know. There’s always a case for a World Test Championship final. That would be great," he said.

“But we have some work to do. We need to win probably all of our home series and get some points away but we’re still in a decent position. We have to take it series by series. There’s eight months to go before our next Test match so there’s still some thinking to do in terms of how we want to approach that,” he added.

It is worth noting that team India is currently leading the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25 standings, having secured six victories in nine matches, boasting a win percentage of 68.51%. In contrast, the Pakistan team occupies the fourth position, having won two out of five matches, resulting in a win percentage of 36.66%.