Themost desired item on Masood’s captaincy bucket list is also international cricket’s biggest political challenge. He would love nothing more than to lead his side in a Test against India, and he’d be prepared to play the match anywhere in the world.
“My greatest memory has been playing India in the 2022 T20 World Cup at the MCG – it was around 94,000 people and that was surreal. If we have a Test match in Pakistan or in India, even the Ahmedabad ground, or we play in Pakistan or at a neutral venue, I reckon an India v Pakistan match could sell out any venue in the world. It’d be great. You want to play the best teams in the world and India is certainly one of the best, especially when it comes to Test cricket. We just saw a very exciting India versus England series. I would love for that to happen. It’d be a great honour to lead Pakistan against India.”
The last time the two countries played a Test was in 2007 and their meetings have since been confined to ICC events. Masood is realistic about the likelihood of any bilateral fixtures in the near future but is hopeful the World Test Championship will, at some point, provide the opportunity for what would be the most highly anticipated Test series in decades.