‘Agha Salman is a team player’ – Did Shan Masood taunt Babar Azam after Pakistan’s huge win over England in Multan?

Shan Masood was a smiling captain as his side snapped their losing run to beat England by 152 runs. The veteran star had come under heavy fire after losing the first game by an innings and 47 runs. What made the loss even more humiliating was that Pakistan had scored 556 in their first innings and yet lost the game. 

It was the first time in 147 years of Test cricket history that a team had lost by an innings margin after posting such a huge score on the board. At the end of the game, Shan Masood was wholehearted in his praise for some of the younger stars of the team. 

The Pakistani skipper said, “Everyone chipped in. For Kamran Ghulam, it's never easy, we were all behind him, he looked like he belonged here. Agha is probably one of my favourite players, he's a team player.” Kamran Ghulam scored a masterful ton in his 1st game for Pakistan after replacing Babar Azam. 

Pakistan skipper praises his team after rare home Test win 

After waiting 3 years, smiles were finally back on the faces of the Pakistani side. The decision to drop Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Sarfaraz Ahmed paid a rich dividend. Aaquib Javed who was criticized for dropping four players saw his move vindicated with the huge win. 

Sajid Khan and Noman Ali picked all 20 wickets in the game to help their side square the series. Spinner Sajid Khan picked 9 wickets in the game including his 7/111 in the 1st innings, while Noman Ali picked 9 wickets in the match. The veteran spinner picked 8/46 in the 2nd innings to bowl out England for 144 runs. 

Speaking at the end of the game, Shan Masood said, “The first one is always special, it has come after some hard times. A lot has happened over the last week. For everyone to work together, to come up with a strategy to pick 20 wickets and make it happen, that's the most satisfying thing. You have to applaud the group. They have been hungry. You can't doubt the effort of the guys and their commitment.”

The veteran star also added, “It's a collective effort and what matters in team sport is chipping those 20-30 runs, putting those efforts in the field. Zahid didn't bowl much but he was running around, he was there for the team, same with Jamal who scored some vital runs. Noman and Sajid were the front-runners and everyone chipped in. 

Meanwhile, England skipper Ben Stokes said “There's a lot that we look in terms of attitude, they both certainly showed that. They constantly felt that they were a big threat which massively helps. Good to get through this game, worked hard to get fit for this game. Nothing can prepare you for standing in the field for as long as we did and in this heat. Looking forward to the next week now. It's been a great series so far.”

Sajid Khan was named the player of the match and the off-spinner thanked the fans for their support. The 31-year-old said, “We lost the last two series, we just backed our process. Thanks to the Multan crowd for all the support. Noman is one of the most experienced players in our team, he shares his experience with all of us and he's played everywhere. I got the wickets in the first innings, he got the wickets in the second. Our combination was good.”