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"Best option is domestic cricket": PAK coach's blunt advice to Babar Azam, Abdullah Shafique

Arunima Purohit

Azhar Mahmood [Source: @CallMeSheri1_/X]Azhar Mahmood [Source: @CallMeSheri1_/X]

The Test series between Pakistan and South Africa came to a dramatic end with the visitors winning the second match by eight wickets. With this, the series was levelled, 1-1. Despite the victory in the first game, the home team's batting failure in the second innings of the recently ended second match led to the defeat. 

Pakistan coach Azhar Mahmood gave a bold suggestion to Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique after a poor performance in the Test series against South Africa. Following the Tests, both teams will play a 3-match T20I and ODI series. 

Azhar Mahmood's suggestion to Babar Azam and Abdullah Shafique

Losing against South Africa in the second match was not something the Pakistan camp anticipated. However, the batting failure was quite evident, which was the main reason behind the loss. Except for Babar's half-century, none of the other batters performed well. Hence, Mahmood suggested that Babar and Shafique play domestic matches to get the match practice, which will help them in the upcoming games. 

"If you look at Abdullah and Babar, they haven't played much first-class cricket. When there's pressure in Test matches, you don't always know how to handle it. The best option is to go and play domestic cricket," said Mahmood at the press conference. 

We're not shying away: Shan Masood

Pakistan captain Shan Masood opened up about the challenges Pakistan faced in the second innings, as well as the mistakes made by the batters. He credited South Africa's bowling performance for being brilliant throughout the innings.

"We're not shying away but in these conditions it will always be a reflection of the first two innings. We had a great opportunity to close it out when we had a lead of 98 with two wickets to go. We tried a lot of things. Muthusamy, Maharaj and Rabada played well. But there were a lot of chances on offer. So we'll have to look back at those chances half an hour before Lunch (Day 3). I think there were about four or five chances that we missed out on. In Test cricket, like I said, we're measuring ourselves against a team that's won this Test championship. So you can't give them opportunities in a costly period of 30 minutes," said Masood at the post-match presentation.

Shan Masood scored 172 runs in two matches at an average of 42.50. Considering that Pakistan were playing against South Africa, the captain's performance was not outstanding. Hence, the Men in Green have several areas to improve before the start of their next series.