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Pakistan Test captain, Shan Masood on Tuesday, September 3 refuted rift rumours with spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi after an instance from opening Test of the two-match series went viral. In an old video from first Test, Afridi shrugged off Shan Masood’s hand from his shoulder, sparking rift rumours in the camp.
However, the incident got traction from fans and critics alike, the Pakistan batter finally opened up, issuing a clarification on the incident. Speaking after Pakistan’s 0-2 series defeat, Masood explained that Afridi removed his hand as he was hit by a ball, putting an end to the rift rumours. “I think there was an incident going around where I had put my hands on Shaheen’s shoulder, and he had shrugged it off. He was not angry with me. He had got hit by Nahid Rana and I had touched that exact place,” Masood said at the post-match press conference.
Watch Shan Masood refute rift rumours with Shaheen Afridi:
Shan Masood opens up on heated argument with Jason Gillespie
The 34-year-old, who was also marred in a controversy after he was spotted having a heated argument with head coach Jason Gillespie, also cleared air on it. Speaking at the post-match press conference, Masood added that the incident revolved around the ball change controversy.
"The next one was that I was angry at Jason Gillespie. But that was not the case. Our ball had gone into the stands after Litton hit a shot. That ball was 8 overs old. After the umpires replaced the ball, we noticed that it was much older, 18-19 overs old and I was arguing that we needed a better ball," Masood added.
Moreover, the thrashing for Pakistan was Shan Masood’s fifth consecutive loss since assuming captaincy in 2023. His tenure began with three Test losses to Australia down under, followed by the two recent losses, which came against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. Notably, it was Bangladesh’s first-ever Test series win against Pakistan.
