Toss Bangladesh chose to bowl vs Pakistan
With the expectation of early moisture for his fast bowlers to exploit on a well-grassed Rawalpindi pitch, Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto chose to bowl as the first Test got off to a delayed start. Pakistan captain Shan Masood said he would have preferred to bowl first too.
Bangladesh picked three quicks and two spin-bowling allrounders in Shakib Al Hasan and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, which left no room for the left-arm spin of Taijul Hasan. With the team management opting for the raw pace of Nahid Rana to partner Shoriful Islam and Hasan Mahmud in the seam attack, Bangladesh left Khaled Ahmed out of their XI. Shadman Islam slotted in at the top of the order in place of Mahmudul Hasan Joy, who is out with a groin strain, and Mushfiqur Rahim returned to the middle order after missing the home series against Sri Lanka with a thumb injury.
Pakistan named their XI two days out from the match, picking four seamers including Naseem Shah, back in Test cricket for the first time since returning from his long-term shoulder injury, and Mohammad Ali, who returns for his first Test since the home series against England in 2022. Allrounder Salman Ali Agha is the only spinner in their attack.
A wet outfield – in particular a damp spot in the short fine leg/mid-off region – delayed the toss by four hours, even though most of Wednesday morning was rain-free. There had been rain in the region in the lead-up to the match, and day one of Bangladesh A’s second four-day game against Pakistan A in nearby Islamabad had been washed out on Tuesday.
Pakistan: 1 Abdullah Shafique, 2 Saim Ayub, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Ali Agha, 8 Shaheen Shah Afridi, 9 Naseem Shah, 10 Khurram Shahzad, 11 Mohammad Ali
Bangladesh: 1 Shadman Islam, 2 Zakir Hasan, 3 Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), 4 Mominul Haque, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Shakib Al Hasan, 7 Litton Das (wk), 8 Mehidy Hasan Miraz, 9 Shoriful Islam, 10 Hasan Mahmud, 11 Nahid Rana
