'Have always been a fan of Mickey Arthur,’ says Shan Masood

Solid and technically sound left-handed Pakistan opener Shan Masood is playing his first County season this summer. Recently, he spoke about his objectives by featuring in County Cricket and his relationship with coach Mickey Arthur. He is currently the highest run-scorer in the County Championship Division II, with 826 runs at a staggering average of 118 in five matches for Derbyshire. 


Shan wishes to play as much cricket as possible and said his objectives are very 'simple'. 


"The objectives from my point of view are very simple and that is to play as much cricket as the County season offers. I have been fortunate enough to have been offered a full-season all-format contract where I will get a chance to play plenty of cricket against different teams. This will allow me to test myself under varying conditions and in different formats and basically is a great opportunity to play a lot of cricket. I haven't really played too much cricket in the recent past. So, being in touch with the game and playing a lot is very fulfilling for me," Masood told PakPassion.net. 


The Johannesburg-born has taken over as head coach in Derbyshire this season. Upon being asked if Arthur played any role in Shan's move to Derbyshire, the southpaw revealed about his sudden meeting with the South African-Australian cricket coach at Dubai Airport.


"He and I had a coincidental meeting at the airport in Dubai after the ICC T20 World Cup. I met Mickey who was on his way to Sri Lanka. Funnily enough he said that he was going to contact me anyways in a few days, so I guess this chance meeting accelerated the process as he asked me if I was interested and available to play for Derbyshire this summer," Masood said.


The 32-year-old batter, who already played under Arthur during the latter's stint as Pakistan coach, described it as a feeling of 'Déjà Vu' to play under his coaching in Derbyshire.


"I have always been a fan of Mickey Arthur, but I won't sugar coat it because we've always had hard conversations and had our differences, but everything about that has been honest and truthful," he added. 


The Kuwait-born cricketer also said that Arthur's man-management skill is unmatched. He is looking forward to enjoying his time in the UK under the South African coach. 

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