Bangladeshi all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan (Photo/Twitter)
Bangladesh is pinning its hopes on all-rounder and former legislator Shakib Al Hasan to “do something special against fast-paced Pakistan in the opening Test of the two-match series, which begins on Wednesday.”
(Shakib) has played this game for so long that he knows his role, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto said on the eve of the first Test match at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
He knows how to prepare himself, so I’m not thinking about his political career and I hope he does something special in this series. He’s a professional cricketer and we all treat him as such, to be honest.
Bangladesh’s all-round spinner, Shakib, was playing in the T20 league in Canada during the political turmoil in his home country.
The unrest hampered preparations and Bangladesh flew to Pakistan four days ahead of schedule for three additional days of training in Lahore.
Rawalpindi will host both Test matches.
The series is part of the World Test Championship in which Pakistan is ranked No. 6 while Bangladesh is ranked No. 8, above last-placed West Indies.
Pakistan has an impressive match record against Bangladesh, having won all but one of the 13 matches. The teams drew in Khulna, Bangladesh, in 2015.
Shanto said it won’t be easy for Bangladesh against Pakistan’s four-pronged attack, led by Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah. And Pakistan’s fast-pacers have fond memories of Rawalpindi. Four years ago, Shah’s hat-trick helped Pakistan inflict a crushing innings and 44-run defeat on Bangladesh.
Shanto, who was among Shah’s three wickets in that 2020 Test, said it won’t be easy but remained hopeful.
We have a very well-balanced team and we believe we can do some special things this time, he said Tuesday.
The series will be the first Test for Pakistan’s new coach, Australian Jason Gillespie. Pakistan was swept aside 3-0 by Australia in the last Test series they played eight months ago. That was also Shan Masood’s first Test series as Pakistan captain.
“We made some mistakes that probably cost us the Melbourne and Sydney Test matches,” Masood said. “But as a team, we were going in the right direction, so that’s something we have to learn from.”
Masood said the results in the domestic matches in Rawalpindi have encouraged him to field an all-out pace attack that also features fast bowlers Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali in the starting XI.
“You have to be very flexible and adapt and embrace different conditions,” Masood said. “I think in Rawalpindi the conditions have favoured the line bowlers and the batsmen, the off-spin has not been a big threat.”
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
First published: August 20, 2024 | 16:51 IS
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