Visitors announce squad for two Tests

Pakistan Cricket Board has announced the Pakistan squad for the two Tests against Bangladesh, which will start with the Chittagong Test from November 26 to 30 and end with the Dhaka Test from December 4 to 8.

Opener Imam-Ul-Haq, middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam and off-spinner Bilal Asif have been named in the 20-player squad, replacing Haris Rauf, Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Yasir Shah, who were part of the 21-player side that toured the West Indies in July-August. Left-handed Imam has been recalled following his stellar performances in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in which he has aggregated 488 runs in five innings of four matches, including an unbeaten double-century. Imam had played his 11th and last Test against Australia in Adelaide in November/December 2019. “Bangladesh are a strong side in their backyard but we have the resources, talent and experience to perform strongly and then carry that momentum into the Australia Tests, which will be part of the World Test Championship,” chief selector Muhammad Wasim said to the media.

Pakistan take flag to training for boosting morale

Pakistan cricket team sprang a surprise on everyone present at the National Cricket Academy Ground in Mirpur when they erected a flag stand holding their national flag before beginning their training session on Monday. The Pakistan team held their first training session since arriving in Bangladesh from 10:30 am to 1:30 at the Academy Ground ahead of their three-match Twenty20 series against the hosts starting on November 19. But before sweating it out on the field, the Pakistan team placed two flag stands on the field which remained there for the entire duration of their training. This unusual act is apparently a regular part of Pakistan’s training ritual since Saqlain Mushtaq has taken over as the head coach, informed the team’s media manager Ibrahim Badees.

‘This is not the first time. We also did the same in the recently concluded T20 World Cup,’ Ibrahim told the media on Monday. ‘The whole notion of erecting flag stands at the venue was introduced by Pakistan’s new head coach Saqlain Mushtaq. He instructed the team to do so during training sessions, match time respectively,’ he added. Ibrahim also explained Mushtaq’s reasoning behind the notion. ‘Mushtaq says that we are representing the 24 Million People of Pakistan and the flags keep all of us motivated in the field. ‘It is an inspirational sign for all of us which keeps reminding us that we are not 18 players or 30 member squads, we are 24 Million and united.’

Pakistan Test squad

Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-Ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakee, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Zahid Mahmood