Pakistan star Shan Masood cites Mickey Arthur’s influence as key to Derbyshire move
Pakistan star Shan Masood has expressed his excitement at signing for Derbyshire and working under new head of cricket Mickey Arthur.
Masood, who has 24 Test appearances and five One Day Internationals under his belt for Pakistan, played under Arthur between 2016 and 2019 and credits the Derbyshire coach as one of the biggest influences on his career.
The opening batter was one of Arthur’s key recruitment targets as he shapes his new squad, and says he is looking forward to the challenge.
He said: “Playing county cricket has been a very well-known wish of mine both in the cricketing fraternity and amongst family and friends.
"I bumped into Mickey at Dubai Airport and he talked about the prospect of him joining Derbyshire and that if he did, he’d want me to be his overseas player.
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"It’s now finalised and although we’re still a few months away I’m really excited to play at a place where I’ve been before, as I played an under-19 Test there with Pakistan a few years ago and also with the senior Test squad in 2020.
"I also played with Wayne Madsen at Multan Sultans so I’m quite familiar with a few things to do with the county and I can’t wait to get started.”
Having followed Arthur’s career, Masood is eager to get started under his tutelage.
He said: “I’d followed Mickey in helping take South Africa to the number one spot and then with him joining the Pakistan setup I was excited that a coach of his pedigree would be part of our squad.
"I had a few bad innings in England in 2016 which led to me being dropped from the side but Mickey always talks to a player and knows their psychology and you can always have a conversation with him that will be brutally honest but you know will work towards something constructive.
"So eventually he helped me grow into the player I believed I could be and I worked hard on the things he’d highlighted over the next couple of years and broke my way back into the test team while he was there.
"So it’s great to have someone there who has been there during the defining years of your career in terms of your developmental skills and I’m really happy to be working with him again.”