Leading Derbyshire Falcons in T20 Blast an honour: Shan Masood

DERBY: Pakistani Test cricketer and opening batsman Shan Masood has said captaining Derbyshire Falcons in the T20 Blast tournament is an honour for him and a proud moment for the Pakistani cricket fraternity.

The left-handed batsman, who is playing for Derbyshire CCC in this year’s county championship, was made the captain of their T20 team after a brilliant performance in the first round of the tournament, where he scored the second-highest runs.

Earlier, Masood, who is playing for the first time in the county championship, broke the record of most runs scored in the month of April, for his stellar effort he revived PCA’s “Player of the Month Award”.

Speaking exclusively to Geo.tv at The Incora County Ground in Derby, Masood — the second Pakistani after great Wasim Akram to lead a county team in the T20 tournament — termed leading the team a huge responsibility.

“This is such a huge honour for me that my name is now spoken along with great Wasim Akram’s name, but these things do happen in life and we should be thankful”, said Masood.

“All I have to do is lead from the front, play good cricket, get desired results, and set an example of a good human being so our country gets a positive reflection”.

Masood has also captained Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League’s season six in 2021 before he was replaced by Mohammad Rizwan. Talking about that experience, Masood said that any such experience in the field is vital as PSL is now one of the biggest leagues in the world.

“If we see the stature of Pakistan Super League, it’s probably the second biggest and successful T20 league currently in the world where standards of cricket are very high. So captaining a team like Multan Sultans in that has definitely given me enormous experience”.

Masood told Geo.tv that leading Falcons in the Blast is a golden opportunity as this will give him more exposure to the playing conditions in England and mix that with the experience he’s gained by capturing Multan Sultans.

“Captaining Derbyshire Falcons now is a great opportunity for me to gain more experience and expertise. In white-ball format England is considered the best team in the world at the moment therefore to come here and play and see how cricket is played here is a great learning experience”.

Talking about the trust Derbyshire CCC coach Mickey Arthur has shown in him, Masood said that this healthy working relationship with the South African coach has developed over the past many years and he’s ready to respond to that trust with good results.

“I’m trying my best to play my part and fulfil my responsibilities on day to day basis, work on my weaknesses whether as a player or as a captain. When you’re leading a team you get to learn new things every day so that the mistakes you’ll make are not repeated next time”.

Masood said that he’s very fortunate that Arthur not only has provided him with a strong backroom staff with the likes of Ian Bell and Ajmal Shahzad in the coaching department but also in other departments like physical fitness and technical analysis.

“The setup Mickey Arthur has developed and the environment he has provided us here at Derbyshire CCC is very close to international standards”.

In the first game as a captain against Birmingham Bears his opposite number was Carlos Brathwaite and both players were part of the Multan Sultans squad in PSL 6. 

Speaking about the interaction with Carlos on the field, Masood said he enjoyed playing against him.

“I had developed a very good relationship when we were together playing for Multan Sultans. He’s is a great friend on and off the field a brilliant team man. In modern days cricket, these are the happy interactions you are always looking forward to”.

“This is the beauty of cricket these days when you play in different leagues around the globe for different franchises you get a chance to meet propel from different countries and get to know about different cultures”, further added Masood.