Pakistan will begin a new World Test Championship (WTC) cycle with a two-match home series against South Africa this Sunday. Having performed last in the last WTC, Pakistan is hoping to change things on home turf with a better performance.
Curiously enough, when Pakistan had won three of its previous four home Tests by preparing spin-friendly surfaces with industrial fans, heaters, and wind shields, they have not done so this time. Nevertheless, even though the Gaddafi Stadium pitch has no grass, spin is still likely to have an important role to play.
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Before the first Test, captain Shan Masood was asked tough questions at the pre-match press conference one of which was a comment by a journalist charging him with not leading by example.
Reporter’s question: “Aapki apni performance ko leke kaafi baat ho rahi hai ki captain lead from the front karte hain lekin humare Test captain lead from the front nahi kar rahe. Uske baare mein bata dein (There is a lot of chatter about your own performance. The talk is that our captain is not leading from the front. Please tell us about it),”
Shan Masood’s answer: “If you give me the numbers, then I will answer this question. We are just repeating one thing. We are playing in such conditions where our priority is to take 20 wickets. We don’t want to play on wickets where Tests are drawn. To excel in WTC, you must win matches. We need to lower our expectations when it comes to cumulative averages. If you look at the WTC cycle for the last period, I am among the top run-scorers for Pakistan. Unfortunately, the results haven’t come, and we consider it a cumulative failure.”
Shan Masood speaks about his performance in response to a journalist’s question#TOKSports #ShanMasood #PakvSa pic.twitter.com/6T37YQlQqP
— TOK Sports (@TOKSports021) October 11, 2025
Compounding the uncertainty, Pakistan’s team enters this series with minimal recent red-ball cricket. Their previous Test outing was a drawn West Indies series in January, with the last match in Multan being lost. Important players such as Babar Azam and Shaheen Shah Afridi have not played any first-class games in the last nine months, with Shaheen not playing a Test in more than a year.
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All attention will be on how this poorly prepared but Pakistan side fares against a robust South African team with the onset of the new WTC cycle.
