ISLAMABAD: Pakistani fast bowler Naseem Shah this week criticized the batter-friendly Rawalpindi pitch during the first Test match against Bangladesh after the visitors piled on plenty of runs on a track that offered little turn or bounce for bowlers.
Batting first, Pakistan piled on 448-6 before declaring their innings and offering Bangladesh to bat on the Pindi surface. However, the visitors also amassed runs, scoring an impressive 565 runs before getting bowled out.
Pakistan’s venues have become notorious for flat decks that fail to produce results from matches. In March 2022, only 14 wickets fell over five days in a Rawalpindi Test match against Australia when then-PCB chairman Ramiz Raja admitted to neutering a pitch that would go on to be rated below average by the International Cricket Council (ICC).
“We need to be honest,” Shah said during a press conference after returning figures of 3-93. “It’s been too many series where we get these types of pitches. The groundstaff tried their best to make this pitch good for bowling, but perhaps because of the heat and sunshine there isn’t much help from the pitch.”
The right-arm pacer said Pakistan needed to think how it can extract home advantage and results from such games.
“The kind of weather we have right now, it’s extremely hot, and we didn’t get the kind of help from the surface as a bowling unit as we expected,” Shah said.
He said Pakistan needed to prepare spin-friendly tracks if it could not produce pitches that favored pace.
“However you do it, you need to use home advantage,” he said. “People come to enjoy Test cricket in this heat, so you need to entertain them.”
The South Asian country, traditionally known for producing lethal fast bowlers, hasn’t won a single Test match at home since 2021.
