[11][12] He also returned to Raiders Club the same year to play in the Rovers Cup in India where his team lost to Bombay Amateurs in the semi-finals and beat Central Railways in the third place match.

[21] In August 1953, he was part of the East Bengal senior team's tour to the World Youth Festival in Bucharest, where he scored a goal against Lebanon XI in their 6–1 win and against Germany in the third-place play-offs in a 2–5 defeat.

In August 1953, the Pakistan Football Federation reportedly prohibited Pakistani players from playing in India without a permit,[25][26] but East Bengal still fielded Masood Fakhri and fellow countryman Niaz Ahmed, stating they had received permission from the PFF.

as the winners of the IFA Shield[28][29] after East Bengal failed to produce a written permit for the Pakistani players from the PFF and suspended the club from all football activities until 31 December 1954.

[28] East Bengal challenged the decision and took the IFA to court after receiving a letter from the PFF president, Dr. A. M. Malik on 25 October 1953,[30] and had their suspension revoked.

[31] In 1954, when the National Football Championship was held in Lahore, he returned to his former team this time featuring with the name of Punjab Blue, scoring in the 80th and 85th minutes against Railways in the final winning by 3–0.

[2] Bert Flatley, a coach with the Football Association (FA) in England, communicated to Fakhri the possibility of a move to Bradford City.

[10] Fakhri had most notably scored a hat-trick and became the first player from Pakistan to do so as his national team thumped Singapore 6–2 in a group match at the 1954 Asian Games in Manila, Philippines.