Pakistan searching for winning formula in home conditions

Pakistan red-ball skipper Shan Masood believes his side will have to make winning a habit on home turf before it aims to become a formidable unit on international assignments and dream of qualifying for the World Test Championship final.

"We have yet to find the perfect approach to taking advantage of home conditions and winning," said Masood in a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) podcast.

"Unless you can win at home, you cannot hope to qualify for the final of the World Test Championship," he added.

Masood was appointment the country's Test captain following Babar Azam's decision to step down after the team's premature exit in the 2023 ODI World Cup. He was later retained as red-ball skipper for the upcoming international assignments in July this year.

The Test side has failed to make an impact at home after international cricket returned to the country in 2019 following a decade-long isolation, with Australia and England comfortably winning the series in Pakistan and the hosts also failing to beat New Zealand.

The PCB and team management were criticised in 2022-23 for preparing flat pitches against Australia, England and New Zealand because of the fear of losing matches. Pakistan's last Test series win came against South Africa in January 2021.

"In Test cricket, which is the ultimate challenge in the game, you have to be familiar with certain conditions," said Masood.

He added that not having played at home for 10 years had created a void and the team was still trying to discover the winning formula.

"Yes, we've been playing at home since 2019, but other teams have been playing on their home soil for much longer. We still have to decide what our best approach at home is."

"We still haven't found our ideal way of playing at home that suits our batting, bowling, and overall style. That's something we need to quickly figure out."

"We need to determine how we can create conditions that suit us more and put us in the driving seat, rather than just thinking about how we can cope with the opposition?" Masood said.

Pakistan red-ball head coach, former Australian pace bowler Gillespie, hoped that playing seven out of nine Tests at home this season would help them find the right formula.

"I think we still need to figure out exactly what surfaces we want to be playing on which gives us the edge," said Gillespie.