Shan Masood wins PCA Player of the Month award

KARACHI: Overlooked by national selectors, prolific opener Shan Masood continues to win accolades abroad.

On Monday, the left-hander who scored back-to-back double-centuries in the English County Championship for Derbyshire in April, was voted the PCA’s Player of the Month.

Shan, who has represented Pakistan 30 times, finished top of the month’s Professional Cricketers' Association Most Valuable Player Rankings, registering 129.34 points. Shan last played for Pakistan in January 2021. He has since been ignored for national duty despite scoring heavily in domestic competitions.

The elegant trophy was presented to him by the PCA’s Vice Chair and Derbyshire teammate, Anuj Dal. Shan pipped Kent’s Ben Compton, Hampshire all-rounder Keith Barker and Yorkshire’s Harry Brook.

It is Shan's first time playing in the County Championship and he believes the resources in county cricket provide everything he needs to improve. He is taking inspiration from Marnus Labuschagne’s first spell at Glamorgan and seeing how that benefited him on the international stage which is something Shan hopes to replicate with Pakistan.

“Marnus came to Glamorgan, scored about 1,200 runs and then never looked back after getting into the Australian side,” he said.

“He is a prime example, and these are the things you look for. I saw significant improvements in his batting after his spell here, and there is no surprise that he is world number one right now. I talked to him a lot when he was in Pakistan, and I spoke to him a lot during the match we played against each other recently.

“The county set-up provides everything I need to take my game forward.” In addition to his back-to-back double hundreds, Shan has scored three half-centuries, giving him an average of 119.

When Shan spoke to the PCA, he was also keen to bring up his close relationship with his late sister, who sadly passed away in 2021. He attributed some of his early-season success to the family tragedy, as he believes his personal experience has stopped him from over analysing and brought increased perspective to his life.

“I lost my sister not so long ago, who was so close to us, and this has allowed me to reflect on life and the game. I feel cricket is a thing that should be enjoyed. I have stopped over analysing and stopped putting lots of pressure on myself. I am not worried about the results because I know if I am putting in the yards and I have good intentions they take care of themselves.”

Shan, 32, said he is grateful for the award and he praised the environment in the Derbyshire dressing room for helping him to achieve this. Shan hasn’t set any specific targets for this summer.

“County cricket excites me, the fixtures are relentless, but it gives you games of cricket week in and week out and the chance to improve your trade. I knew I would play 14 Championship games – and I get to work with Ian Bell, which is a huge privilege. You play against quality opposition and have the chance to play all three formats.

“These awards are always a by-product of the work you put in and I am extremely grateful to be the PCA’s Player of the Month.

“Mickey Arthur has allowed me to enjoy my cricket. The dressing room is an important place, and you can tell it is a Mickey Arthur dressing room. His standards are so high, but you get a lot of backing from the coach so when you go out on the field you can focus on giving good performances. “It helps that there are some familiar faces. I know Billy Godleman after playing under 19s cricket with him, and Wayne Madsen was with me at Multan in the Pakistan Super League."