ANI
Rawalpindi
The two-match Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will begins at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Wednesday.
The Tests against Bangladesh will mark the first assignment of Jason Gillespie as Pakistan’s Test coach.
Currently, the Shan Masood-led side is two spots above the visitors in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table. This series will be the first one for both teams following the completion of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 which took place in the West Indies and in the United States.
Talking about both team’s last five matches in the longest format of the game, Pakistan and Bangladesh managed to win their last two encounters. On the other hand, both teams lost their first three matches in the last five games they played.
There will be a bit of grass on the Rawalpindi pitch and it would be favourable for the batters.
The last two matches on this pitch have been high-scoring where teams have managed to score 657, 579, 476-4 (declared), and 459 in their first innings.
Notably, there is a possibility of rain on all five days of the Test match.
Meanwhile, Pakistan skipper Shan Masood on heaped praise on Saim Ayub and said that they want to give him a "fair chance” in the upcoming Test series.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Masood said that Pakistan has a lot of quality in their opening batting lineup.
Talking about Saim, the skipper said that the 22-year-old is in "good touch” currently. Masood said that he wants to back his players.
Saim made his Test debut in 2024 against Australia. In his maiden game with Pakistan, he has scored 33 runs in 1 match and 2 innings at a strike rate of 60.0. In the first Test match against Bangladesh, Saim will open for Pakistan along with Abdullah Shafique.
The second Test of the two-match series will be played from August 30 to September 3.
PCB on Monday announced their playing eleven for their first Test match against Bangladesh.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali are the top four pacers for Pakistan who will play against Bangladesh in the first Test match.
Pakistan’s playing XI: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (VC), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali.
Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (C), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed.