Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has backed the decision to drop the star pace duo of Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah for the second game of the two-match series. Pakistan endured a series whitewash against Bangladesh on Tuesday in Rawalpindi. Pakistan made a bold move before the second Test by dropping Shaheen and Naseem from the playing XI amidst their dwindling form. The pace set-up of Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali and Khurram Shahzad worked wonders in the first innings but then faded.

Masood backed the decision to exclude Shaheen and Naseem and said they play in all three formats and the team management cannot be harsh on them. He also spoke of the need of discovering potential of other players and nurturing them for the future.

“Like I said, it’s never doom and gloom. You always keep trying, you always come back. You always learn from your mistakes and you try and give people a chance. And I think that we’re heading in the right direction. We have been consistent with selection, we had Khurram, Muhammad Ali Daisy, and Mir Hamza play this test series,” Masood said in the post-match presentation.

“We are trying to keep consistency with red ball performances as well. We’ve got Shaheen and Nasim back in the fold as well. We can’t be harsh on them because they’re playing all three formats. If Shaheen has played consistently for a year, you can’t just throw them in every game. And you have to build up your stocks as well. So we’ve got a lot to look at,” he added.

On Day 4, the Pakistan Test head coach Jason Gillespie addressed the omission of Shaheen and Naseem from the playing XI and highlighted that the team is not looking to rely on individuals. The iconic Australian pacer stated that he wants to see Shaheen peak and start firing at the top level.

“There are a few things that we are hoping Shaheen can work on. He had a pretty eventful time in his personal life as well. We want Shaheen Afridi to be at his very best for as much cricket as possible. He is an all-format player, and we have a pretty heavy schedule, and we want him to be fit and firing,” he said.

Naseem and Shaheen had a mediocre T20 World Cup, which saw Pakistan crash out in the group stage. Both pacers scythed five wickets each despite playing on a surface that assisted the pacers.

The two bowlers could not do much in the first Test. Pakistan lost the second Test as well suffering a series defeat.

India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin does not shy away from a bold comment when talking cricket, and it was no different as he analysed Pakistan’s recent loss to Bangladesh in the first Test at Rawalpindi. Pakistan fell to a dramatic Day 5 defeat, losing to Bangladesh for the first time ever in Tests. In the game, Pakistan captain Shan Masood had declared the first innings at 448, despite the team having lost only six wickets. On a flat wicket, Bangladesh went on to post a higher total, before the Pakistan batting collapsed in the second innings. Ashwin expressed his bamboozlement.

“Teams don’t surrender on a pitch like this. In first-class cricket, strong teams will bat first and hit big,” said Ashwin, speaking on his YouTube channel.

“When I saw the highlights of the match, I understood that it was a proper, tiring collapse on the final day. I haven’t seen that for a long time,” Ashwin admitted.

Ashwin expressed his surprise at how the Pakistan batters got out cheaply in the second innings. Ashwin was highly critical of the Pakistan lower order.

“In the end, when Mohammad Rizwan was staging a fight, Naseem Shah played a shot and got out cheaply. I did not understand what happened. There was nothing on the pitch,” Ashwin said.

Rizwan was the star of Pakistan’s batting throughout the match. He was unbeaten on 171 when Pakistan declared in the first innings, but played a battling 51 amidst difficult circumstances in the second innings.

Former South Africa performance analyst Prasanna Raman, known by the moniker ‘PDogg’, who usually joins Ashwin for his videos, did not mince his words in his critique of the Pakistan batting.

“Bangladesh have no mystery spinners or wrist spinners. There is no threat. If you can’t bat for four sessions on a pitch like that at home, it can mean only one thing. Division 1 and Division 2 cricket needs to be brought in. Otherwise, Test cricket in Pakistan will be destroyed,” said Raman.

Pakistan take on Bangladesh again at Rawalpindi in the second Test on August 30.

Pakistan slumped to a humuliating 10-wicket against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. Spinners Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hasan took seven wickets between them to secure Bangladesh’s maiden win over Pakistan in five-day cricket, a stunning 10-wicket victory in the first Test in Rawalpindi on Sunday. Mehidy grabbed 4-21 and Shakib 3-44 to trigger a Pakistan collapse on the fifth day, with the home side dismissed for 146 runs in 55.5 overs.

That left Bangladesh a target of just 30 runs, which openers Zakir Hasan and Shadman Islam reached in 6.3 overs. Zakir (15) hit the winning boundary, with Shadman at the other end unbeaten on nine, as their squad celebrated a memorable victory.

After the loss, Pakistan were heavily criticised. On the target, was fast bowler Naseem Shah also, with people criticising his fitness. Their point of concern was Naseem’s ‘bulging belly.”

Check the fitness of Naseem Shah. It is impossible for a 21 year old guy to have a bulging belly. Boys of this age who lie at home all day cannot have a bulging belly, whereas he is an athlete.

#PAKvsBAN pic.twitter.com/LpTIqD3E8k

— Tahir Farid (@TahirFarid047) August 25, 2024

Check the fitness of Naseem Shah.

It is impossible for a 21 year old guy to have a bulging belly. Boys of this age who lie at home all day cannot have a bulging belly, whereas he is an athlete.

Bacchabazi is a very common practice in pakistan. That’s the only reason.#PAKvsBAN pic.twitter.com/2M3uT99hIx

— jataayu (@WoKyaHotaHai) August 25, 2024

Question mark on Naseem Shah fitness as well #PAKvBAN #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/Shmp9gHSh5

— (@Faizanali_152) August 26, 2024

Naseem shah ki 20 years k hoty hue fitness chk kro khaak match jeetna h aisi fitnes sy#PAKvsBAN #PakistanCricket pic.twitter.com/oSnwpApmc0

— (@mantasha5566) August 25, 2024

Mohammad Rizwan top-scored for Pakistan in the second innings with 51, including six boundaries, but the home team were staring at defeat on 108-6 at lunch. A holiday crowd of nearly 5,000 expected Pakistan to fight out a draw but Mehidy bowled Rizwan and trapped last man Mohammad Ali for a duck in successive overs.

Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto dedicated the win to people who were killed in political turmoil that resulted in the ouster of premier Sheikh Hasina this month after weeks of student-led protests.

“We are paying tribute to the individuals who recently passed away in our nation during the protest and praying for their souls,” he said.

“Thanks Almighty for the win. It was very special to win on my special day,” said Najmul, who celebrated his 26th birthday on Sunday.

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood described the loss as “disappointing”. “Yes, it is a very disappointing loss,” said Masood who has lost four successive Tests as skipper. “We did not take Bangladesh lightly but the pitch did not play as we expected.”

Bangladesh, criticised for their lack of Test wins, now have one win each over Australia, England and Pakistan. The win in Rawalpindi was only their sixth in 143 Tests.

Pakistan’s batting crumbled on a pitch that had been unresponsive over the first four days until small cracks started to appear that were exploited by Bangladesh’s spinners. The hosts also paid for not including a frontline spinner as they fell to the fifth defeat in their past nine home matches, with four draws.

Their leading batsmen also failed, with Babar Azam making only 22 and skipper Masood 14. First innings century-maker Saud Shakeel fell for a fourth-ball duck.

Pakistan trailed by 117 on the first innings and resumed at 23-1, only to lose Masood in the second over to pace bowler Hasan Mahmud.

It could have been 28-3 had wicketkeeper Liton Das not dropped a regulation catch off fast bowler Shoriful Islam to give Azam a first-ball reprieve. Azam hit three boundaries to raise hopes of a Pakistan fightback but was bowled by an inside edge off Nahid Rana for the right-arm paceman’s only wicket of the match.

Shakib, whose participation in the Test drew protests at home over his political ties to Hasina, had Shakeel stumped and Shafique caught off a miscued shot before lunch. Agha Salman then fell to off-spinner Mehidy for a first-ball duck, leaving Pakistan in tatters at 105-6.

Mehidy then dismissed Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah cheaply in the space of seven runs. Pakistan won 12 of the previous 13 Tests against Bangladesh, six by an innings, with one draw.

The second and final Test will also be played at Rawalpindi from Friday, with the series part of the World Test Championship (WTC).

With AFP inputs 

Pak vs Ban LIVE, 1st Test Day 4: Bangladesh Near Pakistan’s Total© AFP

File photo of Naseem Shah© Twitter

Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has disagreed with the statement made by teammate and fast bowler Naseem Shah that there is a language barrier between the team and foreign coaches. With former Australian cricketer Jason Gillespie taking over as Pakistan’s new red ball head coach ahead of the two-Test series against Bangladesh, Naseem had said that players face difficulties in communication when the coach is a foreigner. However, Masood has vehemently disagreed with Naseem’s statement, saying that Pakistan have made huge strides in improving in that regard.

Earlier Naseem Shah had said, “There is a language problem with foreign coaches. We need someone to translate the language. It is easier to communicate with the coach in your own language,” as reported by Cricket Pakistan.

However, Masood has subsequently disagreed with it. Masood pointed out the time when South African-Australian Mickey Arthur was the head coach, signalling that as an example of no gap in communication. Pakistan are currently coached in limited overs cricket by former India coach Gary Kirsten.

“I think now there is no communication gap. All of us have spent a lot of time in different dressing rooms. Foreign coaches have come before in Mickey’s time. Mickey has come twice. Different assistant foreign coaches have come,” Masood said, as also reported by Cricket Pakistan.

Mickey Arthur had served as the head coach of Pakistan between 2016 and 2019, a period in which Pakistan had lifted the ICC Champions Trophy title in 2017, beating India in the final.

Masood pointed out that Pakistan’s backroom staff also come from overseas countries.

“Even our support staff, personnel, strength and conditioning coach, and physio, they have also come from abroad. So, I think over the years, the boys have picked a lot of things, played in different leagues, played franchises. Some people have even gone to England and played club cricket in the past,” he added.

Pakistan host Bangladesh for the first of two Test matches on August 21. They currently sit fifth in the World Test Championship (WTC) table for the 2023-25 cycle.

Pakistan’s star trio Babar Azam, Mohammed Rizwan, and Shaheen Afridi, are unlikely to get a No Objection Certificate (NOC) for featuring in the upcoming Global T20 Canada, sources told Geo News. The sources informed Geo News that the players won’t get an NOC despite the league schedule, avoiding any clashes with Pakistan’s international fixtures. Pakistan will play the two-match Test series against Bangladesh, which will kick off on August 21. The Canadian League will be played from July 25 to August 11.

It was also reported that the reason for the likely denial of the NOC is that players playing in all formats will not be issued the certificate according to the policy. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not in favour of issuing NOCs to players because of the hectic schedule that lies ahead of them.

Star pacer Naseem Shah was also denied an NOC last week to feature in The Hundred. The sources informed Geo News that, after reviewing the application submitted by the Pakistan cricketer, the decision to deny the NOC has been taken as a preventive measure.

The sources stated that Naseem’s application has been dismissed to safeguard him from injuries since the youngster features in all three formats for Pakistan and suffered injuries and fitness challenges last year.

Apart from the star trio, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Asif Ali, and Iftikhar Ahmed also have Global T20 Canada contracts.

Earlier this week, PCB chairman Naqvi stated that the players would get the NOC based on certain criteria. Players who fulfil the criteria will get the NOC.

“The players will be promoted on the basis of their fitness and performance. There’s no place for players who do not fit the criteria. There’ll also be no compromise on discipline,” said PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi.

In their crucial World Test Championship matches against Bangladesh, Pakistan red-ball head coach Jason Gillispie has already hinted at the possible unavailability of star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi for the series.

Shaheen and his wife, Ansha, who got married last year, are expecting the birth of their first child. Due to this, he could miss the Test series against Bangladesh next month.

“Shaheen can miss Bangladesh Test matches due to childbirth. We can give him [some] rest if he wants to stay with his wife till then,” Pakistan’s red-ball coach, Jason Gillispie, said last week.

Pakistan cricket team is going through a nightmare period of time at the moment. From a forgettable campaign at the ODI World Cup 2023 to a humiliating exit in the recently-concluded T20 World Cup, Pakistan have failed to put up a good show. Not just the players but the Pakistan Cricket Board also went through numerous changes, which ultimately resulted in their team’s debacle. Many former cricketers and experts have criticised the players and skipper Babar Azam has always been on the receiving end.

Babar, who was once the No 1 ODI batter in the ICC rankings, miserably failed to produce a good knock for his team during the ODI World Cup in India. Later, he carried his poor form in the T20 World Cup, where his team got eliminated in the group stage.

To make things worse, a video from Team Pakistan’s net practice session has gone viral on social media, where Babar was seen struggling against star pacer Naseem Shah‘s younger brother, Ubaid Shah.

Babar Azam struggling against Naseem Shah’s younger brother Ubaid Shah in the nets pic.twitter.com/0HvMlHbQ06

— Farid Khan (@_FaridKhan) July 17, 2024

Ubaid, who is just 18 years old, easily dominated the 29-year-old Babar with his brilliant pace.

Earlier, former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi heavily criticised Babar and stated that he has got enough chances but he failed to deliver.

“Babar has got a full open chance to lead Pakistan. He has been given enough time to show his worth as captain. Now whatever surgery the PCB wants to do, they should take their decision,” Afridi told the media in Birmingham where he was taking part in the World Legends Championship.

“I have also captained Pakistan and so have Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq but whenever the team has performed badly in the World Cups, first thing the captain faces the knife (sic),” he said.

Talking about Team Pakistan, Babar and co will be squaring off against Bangladesh in a two-match Test series, starting from August 21 in Rawalpindi.

(With PTI Inputs)

Pakistan World Cup winner Mushtaq Ahmed praised under-fire Pakistan captain Babar Azam, and stated that he requires contributions from the rest of the players. He went on to ask that more respect be shown towards Babar. Babar and the rest of the Pakistan team were heavily criticised by former players, experts and fans as Pakistan crashed out of the 2024 T20 World Cup after the group stage. However, Mushtaq Ahmed rushed to Babar’s defence, stating that he has increased his aggression.

“Babar’s intent has definitely changed in the past year. He has shown aggression in his batting. If a person can improve so much, I think that’s enough,” Mushtaq said to Cricket Pakistan.

“Other players also have a duty to score runs; they have a role to play too. If one person gives you a score, but the rest of our players don’t go on to score in the remaining 7-8 overs, then there’s a problem,” he added.

“This has been happening for 3-4 years. They (other players except Babar) only score when it doesn’t make a significant impact,” stated Mushtaq.

Babar was Pakistan’s top runscorer in the 2024 T20 World Cup, scoring 122 runs in four games, but at a strike rate of just 101.66. Mohammad Rizwan, who scored the second-most runs, had a strike rate of just 90.90.

Mushtaq called for people to respect Babar more, and not forget his contributions to Pakistan cricket.

“If we talk about Babar, there’s a reason why people respect him worldwide. He brings honour to Pakistan. I think sometimes people are very hard on him,” said Mushtaq.

Babar Azam currently ranks among ICC’s top 5 batsmen in all three formats; No. 1 in ODIs, No. 3 in Tests and No. 4 in T20Is.

Despite a rocky T20 World Cup campaign, Babar is expected to retain captaincy, with the ‘major surgery’ earlier promised by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi reportedly unlikely.

Pakistan cricket team batting stalwarts Mohammad Rizwan and Iftikhar Ahmed are in the news again for the wrong reasons. After the nation’s group stage exit from the 2024 T20 World Cup, many former players, experts and fans have called for a major reshuffling in the team, and for many senior players to be chopped off. Whilst no major changes are likely to be made yet, a video has resurfaced across X, showing Rizwan and Iftikhar struggling against a Pakistani net bowler in a practice session.

In the video that has rapidly gone viral, Rizwan and Iftikhar are being beaten by pace and bounce multiple times. The bowler, however, is not Shaheen Shah Afridi or Naseem Shah, but local bowler Nouman Khan Khaira.

Fans gave no mercy to Rizwan or Iftikhar.

“These local boys should be taken into the Pakistani team and those playing for the side should be rested,” said one user on X.

“They even struggled against part time software engineers of USA,” joked another user on Instagram.

These local boys should be taken into Pakistani teams and those playing for the side should be rested.

— Umar (@umartweets_) July 5, 2024

Rizwan struggled for form during the 2024 T20 World Cup. Despite finishing as Pakistan’s second-highest run-scorer, he batted at a disappointing strike rate of just 90. Most notably, Rizwan failed to guide Pakistan to a victory against India despite being well set during the run chase.

Iftikhar, on the other hand, made just 23 runs in two games, and was dropped from the playing XI.

Pakistan’s early exit

Pakistan exited the 2024 T20 World Cup in the group stage, after back-to-back losses to co-hosts USA and then arch-rivals India in their opening two games. The results led to many criticising Pakistan captain Babar Azam and the rest of the unit, with Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi promising a “major surgery”.

However, recent reports have suggested that Naqvi is unlikely to make large-scale changes in order to avoid conflict with the senior players.