Pakistan opener Shan Masood, who scored back-to-back double-centuries in April for Derbyshire in the ongoing County Championship, has been voted the PCA’s Player of the Month.
The 32-year-old scored 713 runs in three games with two back-to-back double tons. Shan finished top of the month’s PCA Most Valuable Player Rankings, registering 129.34 points and achieving 46% of the vote to secure the award.
Masood pipped Kent’s Ben Compton, Hampshire all-rounder Keith Barker and Yorkshire’s Harry Brook, who received 30%, 14% and 10% of the vote respectively with the four players shortlist selected from the MVP Rankings.
Masood is taking inspiration from Marnus Labuschagne’s first spell at Glamorgan and seeing how that benefited him on the international stage. Which is something Masood hopes to replicate with Pakistan.
“Looking at his career path. Marnus came to Glamorgan, scored about 1,200 runs and then never looked back after getting into that Australian side,” said Masood.
“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, so it is up to me to make use of the incredible resources.”
In addition to his back-to-back double hundreds, Masood has scored three half-centuries, giving him an average of 119.
When Masood spoke to the Association, 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.
“Events in the last two years have allowed me to be present.
“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.”
