Pakistan coach Jason Gillespie on Tuesday gave his first impression of Shan Masood’s captaincy after the team suffered a dismal 2-0 defeat to Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. Pakistan lost the series opener by 10 wickets on August 25, their first ever defeat against their opponents, and suffered a six-wicket defeat in the second Test.

Masood’s captaincy was heavily criticised by fans and cricket pundits after the loss to Bangladesh, but Gillespie backed the 34-year-old, who is yet to win a match as Pakistan’s Test captain after the team suffered a 3-0 defeat to Australia earlier this year.

“I think Shan has led the team very well. We just haven’t played well as a team, that’s the reality,” Gillespie said after the second Test against Bangladesh.

Gillespie’s comments came over a week after Masood was seen speaking aggressively to the former Australian fast bowler in Pakistan’s dressing room as the team put on a horror batting display in the first Test in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan have not won a home Test match since their 2-0 victory over South Africa in December 2021, including ten consecutive matches, the country’s second-longest winless streak ever.

“We need to improve in certain areas and we will improve. I really want to support these players and believe in them. They are good enough and have shown us how good we are. We just need to do it more often and more consistently,” Gillespie added.

What’s next for Pakistan?

The defeat was also a major blow to their aim of reaching the WTC final for the first time. The series loss dropped them to eighth place in the points table, just above bottom-placed West Indies, with a PCT of 19.05%. The Masood-led side will next play England, the only other team to have a clear win against Pakistan in 2022. The home series next month consists of three Tests.