Pakistan surprised many with their selection for the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi starting Wednesday, August 21 having picked four pacers with batting all-rounder Salman Ali Agha being the only spin option, that too part-time. It's not a hidden secret that the surfaces at the Pindi Stadium have rather been flat whether for the Test matches or the white-ball games and hence, the spinner might not have a big role to play as such.
"In Rawalpindi, whenever we have played domestic cricket, the conditions have favored the seamers and the batters," skipper Shan Masood said at the pre-match press conference while justifying his selection. "Spin-bowling hasn’t been such a big threat. So we want to take what we do in domestic cricket forward rather than applying something new, which we don’t normally get in Rawalpindi."
Naseem Shah will be partnering with Shaheen Shah Afridi with the new ball as he returns to the Test setup for the first time since July 2023 with Mohammad Ali being the third pacer and Khurram Shahzad being the fourth one. Asked about Mohammad Ali returning to the fold as support for Shaheen and Naseem, Masood said that the former's pace and hit-the-deck ability worked in his favour to get selected ahead of someone like Mir Hamza.
"We considered who could best support Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, who will hopefully take the new ball tomorrow. We believe Mohammad Ali is well-suited for this role. He hits the deck hard, can move the ball in the air with the seam, and has that extra pace. It's not about one bowler being better than another, but rather about who fits the conditions best," Masood added.
Pakistan playing XI for first Test against Bangladesh: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (vc), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali.
