Shan Masood

Everyone wants to listen to an under-dog story making it to the top. Shan Masood's is no different but with a little twist. Born into an affluent family, Masood's father is one of the board of Governors at PCB. But, that has only made life tougher for Shan as he has had to grind through the rigours of first-class cricket to make it big at the international level.

A debut in 2013 against the visiting South Africans in whites ensured all his struggles playing various levels of age group cricket had come finally bore fruits. A gutsy 75 in his debut innings against the likes of Steyn, Morkel and Philander shouted out his mettle. But having waged like a warrior against seasoned warriors, he fell to Duminy and denied himself a chance to get a hundred on debut.

But Shan again hit the headlines with a majestic ton at Pallekele in the third Test against Sri Lanka in July 2015 after being overlooked for the first two tests of the series. Pakistan thanks to hundreds from Masood and Younis had tracked down 377 with ease. Bad form in combination with mental and technical frailties have kept Shan in and out of the side.

By Kumar Abhisekh Das