LAHORE: Pakistan will go into the first fixture of their upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi with an all-pace attack, the country’s cricket board announced on Saturday.

Although the hosts’ playing XI for the game — which is set to be held from Wednesday — is yet to be finalised, the decision reflects Pakistan’s intention to get the best out of their pace battery led by Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah.

The home side had named a 17-member squad for the series, which included just one specialist spinner in Abrar Ahmed.

The “mystery” leg-break bowler, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said, has been released from the squad, along with batter Kamran Ghulam.

Both, however, will feature in the national developmental side Shaheens’ second and final four-day fixture against Bangladesh ‘A’ — scheduled to be held from Tuesday.

“Instead of benching him for the Test, the selectors named him in the Shaheens squad so that he can gain some match practice ahead of the second Test, which will start on 30 August,” the PCB said in a statement.

Kamran will replace Pakistan Test mainstay Saud Shakeel as the Shaheens captain, with the left-hander having led the side in the first four-dayer against Bangladesh ‘A’.

Saud will return to the national camp ahead of the first Test along with the likes of national squad members Naseem, Sarfraz Ahmed, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira and Saim Ayub — all of whom played in the first four-day match to gain match practice for the Test series, the PCB said.

The eight players leaving the Shaheens squad have been replaced with Ali Zaryab, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Awais Anwar, Niaz Khan, Qasim Akram, Rohail Nazir and Sharoon Siraj — some of the top performers of the domestic circuit in the past few years.

Wicket-keeper Rohail has been preferred over Shahbaz Javed, who was involved in 26 dismissals and scored 371 runs throughout the previous season of the President’s Trophy.

The selectors have also ignored the performance of Abdul Waseeh, the top-scorer of the tournament’s last season.

Zaryab, meanwhile, has been rewarded for being the second best run-getter across the President’s Trophy and the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy, with aggregate of 1200 plus runs.

Pakistan Shaheens squad for second four-day match: Kamran Ghulam (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Ali Zaryab, Ghulam Mudassar, Imam-ul-Haq, Mehran Mumtaz, Mohammad Awais Anwar, Niaz Khan, Qasim Akram, Rohail Nazir (wicket-keeper), Saad Baig (wicket-keeper), Saad Khan, Sharoon Siraj, Umar Amin.

Published in Dawn, August 18th, 2024