ISLAMABAD: Bangladesh’s national cricket team arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday for a two-match Test series starting later this month, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed, as the two countries attempt to make the most of the World Test Championship competition.
The Bangladesh cricket squad arrived in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore in the wee hours of Tuesday. Bangladesh will hold practice sessions at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium on August 14, 15 and 16, the PCB confirmed.
“The visitors will go to Islamabad on August 17,” the board said. “The first Test between Pakistan and Bangladesh will be played from August 21 in Rawalpindi.”
The second match of the two-Test series will be played in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi from August 30 to September 3.
At a news conference on Sunday, Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood spoke about the cricket team’s dismal performance in the T20 World Cup in June 2024, saying it was time to move on.
Pakistan crashed out of the group stage of the tournament after losing to minnows the United States and arch-rivals India, triggering anger and disappointment from millions of fans.
“Whatever happened in the World Cup, it happened. It is now in the past,” Masood said. “You always have to move forward.”
The series will mark the return of Pakistani fast bowler Naseem Shah to the longest format of cricket after 13 months. Masood will captain Pakistan against Bangladesh while middle-order batter Saud Shakeel was named vice-captain in place of pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Pakistani selectors recalled fast bowler Mohammad Ali, who last played against England in 2022, while uncapped batters Mohammad Hurraira and Ghulam Ali were rewarded for their outstanding performances in domestic cricket.
Opening batter Imam-ul-Haq, allrounder Faheem Ashraf, left-arm spinners Mohammad Nawaz and Noman Ali and offspinner Sajid Khan, who toured Australia earlier this year, were dropped while fast bowlers Mohammad Wasim and Hasan Ali were not considered due to injuries.
Pakistan Test squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel, Aamir Jamal (subject to fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Hurraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi.
Bangladesh Test squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Capt), 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, Khaled Ahmed
