Early life and education
Shan Masood was born in 1989 in Kuwait, where his father worked in a bank. Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and the start of the Gulf War, the family left for their native Pakistan, settling down in Karachi again.[4]
His father Mansoor Masood Khan, apart from being a professional banker, always had an interest in sports, himself playing hockey at provincial level while loving cricket as well and encouraging his son to be invested in the field.[5] Mansoor became a member of the governing board in the Pakistan Cricket Board in 2014.[6]
His paternal uncle, Waqar Masood Khan, is a retired civil servant who served as Pakistan's longest serving Federal Secretary for Finance. His elder sister died in 2021 while his younger brother Ali is a barrister.[7]
After moving to the United Kingdom with his parents, he studied at Stamford School, Lincolnshire and then Durham University where he studied economics.[8] He studied Management and Sports Sciences at Loughborough University through a distance learning programme.[8][9]
International career
In October 2013, Masood made his Test debut in the first test against South Africa scoring 75 runs, at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium. He became only the third Pakistan batsman to score a half-century and a duck on Test debut.[20]
In July 2015, he scored his maiden century against Sri Lanka at Pallekele, putting on 242 for the third wicket with Younis Khan as Pakistan scored 382 to complete their highest successful chase.[21] Masood, a part-time medium pacer, bowled for the first time in Test cricket on 23 July 2016 against England at Old Trafford. His first delivery was a no ball.[22]
In September 2018, he was named in Pakistan's One Day International (ODI) squad for the 2018 Asia Cup, but he did not play.[23] In January 2019, he was named in Pakistan's ODI squad for their series against South Africa, but again he did not play.[24] In March 2019, he was named in Pakistan's ODI squad for their series against Australia.[25][26] He made his ODI debut for Pakistan against Australia on 22 March 2019.[27]
In December 2019, he scored his second Test century, against the touring Sri Lankans at the National Stadium, Karachi.[28] In the same match, he also scored his 1,000th run in Test cricket.[29]
In February 2020, Masood made his third Test century, against Bangladesh at Rawalpindi.[30]
In June 2020, he was named in a 29-man squad for Pakistan's tour to England during the COVID-19 pandemic.[31][32] In July, he was shortlisted in Pakistan's 20-man squad for the Test matches against England.[33][34] In August 2020, Masood scored 156 in the first Test against England, his fourth century in Test cricket, at the Old Trafford.[35]
In November 2020, he was named in Pakistan's 35-man squad for their tour to New Zealand.[36]
In September 2022, he was named in the Pakistan's T20I squad for the series against England.[37] He made his T20I debut on 20 September 2022, against England.[38] Masood was also named as part of the Pakistan squad for the 2022 T20 World Cup.[39]
In January 2023, he was named as the vice-captain of the Pakistan's ODI team for their home series against New Zealand.[40]
Captaincy
In November 2023, he was named as the captain of the Pakistan national cricket team in the test format.[41]
Under his captaincy, Pakistan lost the three-match test series against Australia by 3-0[42] where he scored a total of 181 runs.[43]
Masood was retained as Pakistan's captain for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh[44] that ended in a 2-0 home series loss in Rawalpindi.[45]
Masood was again retained as Pakistan's captain for the three-test home series against England.[46] In the first Test, Masood scored his fifth test century and surpassed the 2,000 runs milestone in Tests.[47] He also became the 17th Pakistan captain to score a hundred in the test format.[48] In the second test, Pakistan's win marked Masood's first victory since taking over as captain, after six consecutive defeats in a row.[49] Pakistan won the third Test in Rawalpindi for a 2-1 series win.[50]
His next assignment as Pakistan's Test captain was a two-match away series against South Africa. In the first Test, he got a couple of starts but was unable to convert them into a big score, as Pakistan lost a nail-biter by two wickets.[51] In the second Test, after being dismissed for a low score in the first innings, he scored his sixth Test century in the second innings.[52] Despite his hundred, Pakistan went on to lose the match and the series 2-0.[53]
