Bangladesh announce 16-member squad for Test series against Pakistan

The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) has announced a 16-member squad for the two-game Test series against Pakistan set to begin on August 21.

Pakistan’s home Test series is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) as they will take on Bangladesh in Rawalpindi from August 21-25 while facing the visitors from August 30-September 3 in Karachi.

Najmul Hossain Shanto will lead the Bangladesh side, that boasts a five-man pace attack while wicketkeeping batter Mushfiqur Rahim and all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan are also part of the squad.

Chairman of Bangladesh National Selection Panel Gazi Ashraf Hossain said that the emphasis was on picking best players for the Test series against the Shan Masood-led side.

“This is a well-balanced squad. The likes of Mushfiqur [Rahim], Mominul [Haque] and Shakib [Al Hasan] have played 216 matches combined and there is no substitute for that kind of experience,” he added.

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“We also expect [Najmul Hossain] Shanto, Litton [Das] and the other batsmen to step up because to be competitive against Pakistan, we will need a team effort,” Hossain stated

He said that the experienced pace bowler Taskin Ahmed not be playing the first Test and will only be available for the second game as he is also part of the Bangladesh A squad for two four-day matches against Pakistan Shaheens.

Bangladesh Test squad: 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 and Syed Khaled Ahmed.

It is pertinent to mention that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has already announced a 17-player squad for their two-match Test series against Bangladesh.

The Test squad will be led by batter Shan Masood while left-handed middle-order batter Saud Shakeel was appointed as Pakistan’s vice-captain.

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), 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.