• Bangladesh announced 16-member squad.
• Najmul Hossain Shanto will lead the team.
• Series will be a part of World Test Championship.

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) announced a 16-member squad on Sunday for the upcoming two-Test series against Pakistan, starting on August 21 in Rawalpindi.

These Test matches are part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25, with both teams eager to perform well and improve their standings on the WTC points table.

Najmul Hossain Shanto will captain the 16-man squad, which includes five fast bowlers. Notably, Taskin Ahmed, a key pacer, will only be available for the second Test.

“We have selected five pacers, keeping in mind that Taskin Ahmed will only be playing in the second Test,” said Gazi Ashraf Hossain, Chairman of the National Selection Panel.

“He hasn’t bowled in a Test since June last year, so we’ve included him in the A Team for the second four-day match against Pakistan A to help him get back into rhythm for longer format games.”

In their Test history, Pakistan and Bangladesh have faced each other 13 times across six series, with Pakistan winning 12 of those matches, while one ended in a draw.

“The focus was on selecting our best players for this format,” Hossain added.

“This is a well-balanced squad. Players like Mushfiqur (Rahim), Mominul (Haque), and Shakib (Al Hasan) have played 216 matches combined, and there’s no substitute for that level of experience.”

“Taijul (Islam) and Miraz (Mehidy Hasan) have led the spin department for a long time and have over 350 wickets between them. We also expect Shanto (Najmul Hossain), Litton (Kumar Das), and the other batsmen to rise to the occasion because to compete against Pakistan, we will need a team effort.”

Squads

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumar Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal (subject to Fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper) and Shaheen Shah Afridi

Series schedule

1st Test: August 21 – 25 at Pindi Cricket Stadium

2nd Test: August 30 – 4 September at National Bank Stadium

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