Pakistan are two places ahead of Bangladesh in the World Test Championship table but both teams are in the bottom half. And both are playing their first series since the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh exited from the Super Eight while Pakistan couldn't even reach that stage, leaving both sets of fans disappointed with their performances. This Test series will be a chance to make amends. Luckily, there has been a considerable gap from the World Cup, which will allow the teams to play with a fresh perspective.
Given their record, Pakistan are the clear favourites. Their captain Shan Masood has a new red-ball coach in Jason Gillespie. It is an interesting combination as they can look back at their respective recent county stints to bring stability to Pakistan's Test team.
Barring Aamer Jamal, Pakistan have all first-choice players available. In fact, they named their XI two days before the Test. They are going with an all-pace attack on this Rawalpindi pitch, while Saim Ayub has been given another chance as an opener.
Bangladesh faced a different type of challenge in the lead-up to the series. They were not able to train in Dhaka, so the BCB took up PCB's invitation to train for three extra days in Lahore before three more sessions in Rawalpindi. While Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusinghe is satisfied with his team's preparation, he remained cautious about their batting, which has been on a downward swing for the last 12 months.
Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto hasn't been in form, while Litton Das, whom Masood called his favourite batter in the Bangladesh side, has also been struggling for a long time. That leaves senior batters Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mominul Haque with a lot of responsibility.
Pakistan, though, will not take Bangladesh lightly as the visitors' in-form weapon is their pace attack. It may be short on experience but the likes of Khaled Ahmed and Shoriful Islam have done well with the new ball. Hasan Mahmud and Nahid Rana are also quick and energetic. So it will be an interesting battle against the home batters.
Pakistan LLLWW (last five Tests, most recent first)
Bangladesh LLLWW
Those who saw Naseem Shah bowl in the four-day match against Bangladesh A last week felt he was beginning to look like the red-ball bowler who last played in July 2023. His three wickets in the first innings included Mominul Haque and Anamul Haque, and in the second, he bowled seven overs in one spell. This was his only first-class outing in the last 12 months but Bangladesh know he will be a major threat. On their previous tour to Pakistan, he had rocked them with a hat-trick on debut.
In 2023, Najmul Hossain Shanto scored 440 Test runs, including three hundreds, at an average of 55.00. But he could manage only 32 in four innings against Sri Lanka earlier this year. He has struggled for form in the other formats as well. He has the added responsibility of being the captain but a tendency of driving away from the body seems the main concern. Can he show a bit more discipline and provide Bangladesh with top-order runs?
Pakistan are going in with four fast bowlers. Saud Shakeel has been named the vice-captain.
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
Shadman Islam is likely to replace the injured opener Mahmudul Hasan Joy, while Mushfiqur Rahim returns to the Test side after missing the Sri Lanka series.
Bangladesh (probable): 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 Khaled Ahmed, 11 Hasan Mahmud/Nahid Rana
The pitch has a bit of grass but there is a strong belief that it could be favourable to batters. The last two Tests here have been high-scoring with teams posting totals of 657, 579, 476 for 4 dec, and 459 in their first innings. Rain, however, could play a major role as showers are forecast for all five days.
"We raise our hands to say that we didn't win in Australia. But we did a lot of things right, a lot of things that we want to take forward with us. We made some mistakes that cost us the Melbourne and Sydney Tests but as a team, we are heading in the right direction."
Shan Masood on bouncing back against Bangladesh.
"We had a good series against New Zealand but not a good time against Sri Lanka. We have a very good opportunity this time playing against Pakistan. We have a balanced side. We hope to play good cricket here."
Najmul Hossain Shanto on his side's last two Test series.
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