On these points, the decision has been an unqualified success. Ever since they lost the first Test to England in October on a flat tyre, Pakistan have been on the kind of surfaces they wanted to prepare for. Particular attention has been focused on the measures they have taken to ensure that spin remains the most potent – arguably the only – threat.

Masood pointed out that the victories were not an inevitability but a consequence of Pakistan playing the better cricket across all departments in every match. “If you look at the batsmen individually, it doesn’t give a good reading. But our batsmen batted better than the West Indies and better than the England batsmen in October. If you just look at hundreds and fifties and judge them by raw numbers, it will be misleading Just as we will have to be flexible with our style of play, viewers will also have to be flexible in their thinking.Look at India’s plan and their average you get the point.If the conditions are flat, it is difficult to get 20 wickets We have sacrificed individual milestones for team results.

Masood’s comments indicate that Pakistan has no plans yet to change what has been a successful strategy for them. While this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle has proved to be an unhappy one – they will finish second from bottom in the standings – they have on paper a much softer draw in the next two-year cycle. It sees them play three two-Test series at home against South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka, and three series away against the West Indies, England and Bangladesh. Masood made it clear that they had their eyes on a final berth in 2027 and that if that was to happen, the route was through “winning all our games at home”.

“If you look at the batsmen individually, it doesn’t make a good read. But our batsmen batted better than the West Indies and better than the England batsmen in October… Just as we will have to be flexible with our style of play, the viewers will also have to be flexible in their thinking.”

Shan Masood

He also dismissed any concerns about discontent among his fellow players regarding these playing conditions and allayed fears about the redundancy of Pakistan’s Test fast bowling. “We cannot pit our bowlers and batsmen against each other,” he said. “The hardest thing to do here was batting and fast bowling. West Indies didn’t score 141 in any of their innings and yet we had one partnership [Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Rizwan] do it. The mistake is that maybe we should have tried to gather a few partnerships around the big one. Performances are not just about scoring centuries; in some conditions, 10-20 extra runs can make all the difference.

“If someone has to sacrifice there, like fast bowlers or batsmen, then so be it. There will be oppositions where we feel we can prepare seam-friendly pitches. Then fast bowlers will get the opportunity to get wickets like the spinners got here . We have to work on how we can develop as a team a sub-continent team comes here, we can prepare seam-friendly wickets In the bigger picture nobody’s role is diminished.”

Pakistan will not play another Test for nine months and have just two scheduled in the next 14 months. For Masood, this was the biggest concern and a situation he considered unacceptable.

“I have complained about this issue and raised it several times; a nation like Pakistan cannot just play 4-5 Tests a year. It is something we as a nation have to push for. Ten months gap and then if you come and play in these conditions, it can be completely different. Our first-class season will probably only have just started at that point, hopefully we can fit them in for the next ten months so they will be ready for the series against South Africa in October. “

Ten months is a long time in cricket and, as Masood knows only too well, especially in Pakistan cricket. But in a nation where captains can live or die by the results their teams produce, it’s a little surprising that Masood makes no apologies for a strategy that has so far earned his side these victories, regardless of the optics that accompany them.