File photo of Shaheen Afridi (left) and Shan Masood.© X/@Neha_11_07
Pakistan cricket is not having a good time, be it on or off the ground. While the side suffered an embarrassing 2-0 loss to Bangladesh in the recently-concluded Test series, there were also rumours about the team having cracks in it. A video involving Pakistan captain Shan Masood and star pacer Shaheen Afridi had gone viral on social media after the first Test and the internet speculated that all was not well between the duo. In the video, Shan was standing next to Shaheen during a team hurdle when the latter removed the former’s arms from his shoulders. After Pakistan’s series loss to Bangladesh, Masood has cleared the air on the incident.
“No. There is nothing like that,” said Masood when he was asked to comment on the rumours that he would be stepping down from his role of Pakistan Test captain after the side’s loss to Bangladesh.
“There also came a (rumour/misunderstanding) that I kept my hand on Shaheen’s shoulder and he removed it. He wasn’t angry with me, he actually injured his shoulder by Rana’s delivery. I kept my hand at the same injury point,” said Masood at the press conference after the second Test.
Another video of Masood had gone viral in which he was seen having a heated conversation with Pakistan head coach Jason Gillespie in the dressing room.
Test captain Shan Masood addresses rumored rift with Shaheen Shah Afridi
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— Thakur (@hassam_sajjad) September 3, 2024
Explaining the incident, Masood said, “Then came a (report) that I was fuming at Gillespie. Our second new ball that was 8 overs old went out of the ground after Litton Das hit a six. However, the replacement ball that we got was 18 to 19 overs old. We were saying that we should have been given a new ball rather. I was complaining about that. This is the reason we try to social media less during games.”
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