I’d love to stay on at Yorkshire CCC says proud club captain Shan Masood

Asked if he’d like a crack at the Championship title should that come to fruition, the Pakistan Test skipper told The Yorkshire Post: “I love the club. I love playing county cricket. County cricket for me has been the most beneficial thing in my career.

“Having these six months where I probably wasn’t playing a lot of cricket otherwise has allowed me to play all formats of the game.

“This is when there’s no cricket in Pakistan; there’s only international stuff, and there’s no guarantee about getting selected in international cricket, it’s so competitive.

“So, for me, I’d love to play here, love to stay here, but it’s taking it day by day, hopefully get the right results and we can talk when it’s time to.

“But, for me, I love this club, I’m a supporter of this club, and I want this club to do well.

"I want to be there while this club is doing well and give my best performances for the club.”

Masood, 34, loves playing full-stop.

His season at Headingley last year, which followed a season with Derbyshire in 2022, has nourished that enjoyment and allowed him to play pretty much constantly as his Pakistan career has flourished in parallel.

“I think I’m lucky in the sense that because of county cricket, I get to play cricket all year round,” said Masood, whose only scheduled international commitments during the forthcoming season are a two-Test series at home to Bangladesh in August.

“The only time I haven’t played cricket for a considerable amount of time was a month that I took off in October 2021, when my sister passed away; otherwise, I’ve been continuously playing cricket.

“But I prefer that. When you stop playing cricket, or you have a couple of weeks off without batting, I think you lose your touch. The more games I play, the more consistently I score.

“After a decent September here last year, a few days later I was playing a first-class match in Pakistan and getting runs over the there (Masood top-scored with a first innings 90 as Karachi Whites achieved a thrilling one-wicket win at Rawalpindi in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy).

“We ended up winning the first-class championship, then we went into the one-day comp, then we went to Australia (where Masood led his country on a three-Test tour). When you play consistently, it’s always going to benefit you.

“That’s what I want to do, play cricket for the next five/six years, for however long I can.

"Especially now, in my 30s, I want to milk every ounce of cricket that I can. Once you hit your 40s, you have to be realistic that you’re not going to get these days back.

“That’s why I try to keep in shape. I try to play to the best of my abilities and practice as much as I possibly can because I want to play every day of cricket that I possibly can from here until I stop playing.”