Masood earned a surprise ODI call-up against New Zealand at the start of the year, after a gap of four years. He was also made vice-captain in the absence of Shadab Khan, who was Babar Azam’s deputy in the format, despite playing only five ODIs till then. Unconfirmed reports claimed that neither Babar nor the selection committee was aware of the promotion given to the 33-year-old. Shahid Afridi, the interim selector, too revealed that he was not consulted before making Masood the vice-captain.

Reports also suggested that Masood had the backing of PCB chairman Najam Sethi, who had taken over the role from Ramiz Raja last year, and that he made the XI after his intervention. Sethi later said that Masood had been made the vice-captain to “test his ability.”

Though Masood did not play the first two matches of the series against the Kiwis in January, he later replaced Imam-ul-Haq for the third ODI, walking out to open with Fakhar Zaman. Imam, who averages 58 in 50-over cricket, since the start of 2022, was also dropped for the last two ODIs against New Zealand on their return tour this week, despite making 60, 24 and 90 in the first three games, with Masood opening instead. Imam later posted a cryptic tweet about his omission.

During the fifth ODI, fans in the stadium were seen chanting “parchi parchi” (player who has been selected on recommendation), at Masood when he was fielding. Masood made 44 in 55 balls in the fourth ODI, following it with a 20-ball 7 in the fifth game, as his team failed to chase down 300 runs, losing by 47 runs.

Pakistan claimed the ODI series 4-1.

Watch the chants towards Masood here:

Not acceptable at all. Not when it's Khushdil Shah, not when it's Imam Ul Haq and not when it's Shan Masood! No player deserves to hear chants of 'parchi' at this stage in international cricket 🙏🏼 #PAKvNZ https://t.co/OS4oCIfl8j

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) May 7, 2023