Pakistan batsman Shan Masood on captaincy, working with Andy Flower, and understanding 'Moneyball'

In-form Multan Sultans player talks to The National about his thirst for cricketing knowledge and learning to express himself on the field

Multan Sultans's Shan Masood hits out during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) match against Lahore Qalandars in Lahore on February 21, 2020. AFP

Multan Sultans' Shan Masood plays a shot during the PSL match against Peshawar Zalmi and Multan Sultans in Karachi on March 13, 2020. AFP

Multan Sultans' Moeen Ali, right, and Shan Masood during the PSL match against Peshawar Zalmi in Multan on February 26, 2020. AFP

Multan Sultans' captain Shan Masood celebrates after scoring a half century in the PSL match against Karachi Kings in Multan on February 28, 2020. AFP

Shan Masood of Pakistan bats during Day 4 of the second Test against Australia in Adelaide on December 2, 2019. Getty

Shan Masood of Pakistan during Day 1 of the first Test against Australia in Brisbane on November 21, 2019. Getty

Shan Masood of Pakistan attempts a run out during Day 1 of the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town on January 3, 2019. Getty

Shan Masood of Pakistan after reaching his fifty during Day 3 of the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town on January 5, 2019. Getty

Shan Masood of Pakistan playing a shot during Day 2 of the second Test against Sri Lanka in Dubai on October 7, 2017. AFP

Shan Masood of Pakistan celebrates catching out New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor off the bowling of Yasir Shar during Day 1 of the second Test in Dubai on November 17, 2014. Getty

It is nearly six weeks now since the march of coronavirus brought a halt to the last major cricket competition left standing, the Pakistan Super League.

As it stands, the tournament is on pause. It is hardly inconceivable, though, that it is all done and wrapped up.

Sure, the powers-that-be are looking for a time and place to reschedule. But so is everybody else.

Getting all the bands back together and squeezing in three play-off games then a final, is going to be a tough ask.

Especially when the Asia Cup, T20 World Cup, Indian Premier League, as well as numerous international series, will be vying for the same players and airtime.

It means that one of the great revival stories of recent times in Pakistan cricket will miss out on its crowning moment.

No, not Multan Sultans per se, who shook off the underachievement of their first two years as a competitive entity by becoming the outstanding side in this year’s tournament. Rather, their captain, Shan Masood.

That guy who some might remember as a callow rookie, some way short of the grade when he got his first crack at the big time. Someone who was tormented by James Anderson. And a player who was dismissed as a shot-less wonder when he scored 37 from 173 balls in a Test match in Dubai.

Those memories are starting to feel dated now. Few players define the idea that “you win or you learn” better than the 30-year-old opener from Karachi.

"It is something that will always be a part of me," Masood told The National. "I consider myself a good learner, someone who is always willing to learn.

“Till the day I stop playing, I will continue learning and try to work out what the best way to do a particular thing is.

“Whether that is Test cricket, one-day international cricket, the shots you need to play international cricket, the shots you need for different conditions, in England, Australia or South Africa.”

It is funny how life works out. Back when Masood was at boarding school and then university in England, the country that he refers to as his second home were enjoying an ascent in cricket under the coaching of Andy Flower.

Now, a decade or so later, he and Flower have masterminded the rise of Multan Sultans as captain and coach respectively.

It is no surprise that they got on. Masood, who studied economics and then management, said his view on sport was altered by watching the Brad Pitt movie, Moneyball.

The Michael Lewis book on which it is based it is known to have inspired many of Flower’s coaching philosophies.

"I love seeing how numbers paint pictures, and that all started with watching Moneyball," Masood said.

"Sometimes you grow an interest in something and then, a few years down the line, you read something saying: 'Andy Flower, the head coach of England, has hired [analyst] Nathan Leamon, and they're following the Moneyball process.'

“Then, six years down the line, you are working with the two of them. For me, that is the beauty of sports. You think about something, you dream about something, and that actually ends up happening.

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PSL team of the tournament

1 Babar Azam (Karachi Kings) T20 cricket’s pre-eminent batsman is not a bludgeoner, but an aesthete. His shot making is so crisp, it takes the breath away. The season’s leading run-scorer. AP

2 Chris Lynn (Lahore Qalandars) Spoke in Abu Dhabi in November about looking forward to touring Pakistan for the first time. Judged on the way he played, he looked like he loved it. AFP

3 Shan Masood (Multan Sultans) Once a stodgy Test opener, now the go-getting captain of the PSL’s outstanding side. It has been quite the transformation for the Kuwait-born batsman. AFP

4 Ben Dunk (Lahore Qalandars) Forever blowing bubbles, and plundering opposition bowling attacks. His 99 not out in Lahore’s win over Karachi Kings was arguably the highlight of the tournament. EPA

5 Haider Ali (Peshawar Zalmi) Four innings of over 30 and a top score of 69 represented a breakthrough tournament for Peshawar’s new young star. Only 19, but being spoken about as a new national team recruit. AP

6 Ben Cutting (Quetta Gladiators) In his role the late middle-order, Cutting faced just 77 balls in the tournament. He sent 13 of them for six. He also took eight wickets for the outgoing champions. AFP

7 Shadab Khan (Islamabad United) Mature beyond his years. The 21-year-old was reliable with the ball, and a revelation with the bat. His haul of 263 was the fifth most in the league phase. AP

8 Sohail Tanvir (Multan Sultans) Still going strong, 12 years after dominating the first season of the Indian Premier League. His economy rate of 6.8 was the best of any seamer to bowl a significant amount of overs. AFP

9 Mohammed Amir (Karachi Kings) Almost as reliable with the ball as his teammate Babar Azam is with the bat. Only three bowlers managed more than his haul of 10 wickets, and he had a respectable economy, too. AFP

10 Imran Tahir (Multan Sultans) No spinner managed as many wickets as the 10 the evergreen Tahir took for Multan. He will be 41 by the time the league can think about concluding, but he is still fit and firing. EPA

11 Shaheen Afridi (Lahore Qalandars) The pick of the crop of young Pakistan fast-bowlers, in a competition renowned for the quality of that discipline. Second most wickets, and one of the most thrifty, as well. EPA

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“It was fascinating to get to work with them. I think we formed a great partnership, in terms of putting teams out there based on strategies.”

The PSL was suspended just before its play-off stage. Multan were the leading outfit until that point, having lost just two of their 10 matches.

Their record was an endorsement for their data-driven approach, but Masood says their success was not exclusively guided by the science.

“What we decided the first day was that numbers would always be a good tool, but they are never the solution,” he said.

“They help you make decisions, but at the end of the day, the call has to be made by the captain.

“I might have a host of recommendations, but the final decision lies with me, not the numbers.”

While Masood said he found like-minds in the leadership of his franchise, he does acknowledge he was a little apprehensive about leading a team with coaches and players of such great renown.

“Initially, I felt that it might be a bit intimidating and wondered how I would respond to certain situations,” he said.

“But I told myself that I would just let it be, and welcome each day as it comes, and I’ll experience the occasion before judging the occasion.

“Before even going into the tournament, when you get such a big responsibility, you start thinking about it too much.

“When I went there, it became pretty clear how Andy wanted to run things.

“He told me straight away that the captain plays a huge role, and that he wants me to be me.

“Yes, they ran things in different ways to other teams, but I was empowered with decision-making. As a human being, it helped me grow a lot.

“My relationship with Andy was pretty incredible from the start. We took some big decisions, and there were times when I took decisions where he probably didn’t agree, but he let me make them.

“When those decisions didn’t come off, he told me it was a learning curve. As a person, it was something that helped me grow a lot.”

All of which should benefit Pakistan, too. Masood had already re-emerged as a player of great substance in international cricket in recent times. The PSL is the latest box ticked.

The Kuwait-born batsman said he did doubt himself when he was younger, but that he now feels comfortable in his own skin.

“I’m not sure there is a cricket in the world that goes out to bat 10 times and gets 10 hundreds, or a bowler who goes out and gets five wickets for 10 games in a row,” he said.

“You have to get comfortable with all the realities, and comfortable with the fact that all you can control is the process, and that you have to be willing to learn and have an open mind.

“I think I got comfortable with that mentally, and it allowed me to actually express myself better.

“I used to practice a lot back then as well, but when you have a process you make it purposeful.

“You learn the things that you have to learn, what the best players in the world are doing.”

The global health situation means it is unclear what his next frontier will be. Maybe he will get the chance to avenge his past woes in a Test series in England.

Maybe he will even become a PSL-winning captain in absentia, although he hopes not.

“Not having a knock-out stage would not represent the tournament as it usually is. It is always the fun bit," he said.

“There are huge risks and rewards for performances. You either win or go back home.

“We prepared a lot for this season. We went about it in a way that was unique among the PSL franchises.

“We built a team around specific players. If there is talk about having less players, personally I wouldn’t welcome it.

“At the moment, what is most important is getting more clarity on the situation.”