Pakistan announced the playing XI for Asia Cup 2023’s first Super Fours clash against Bangladesh at Lahore, Gaddafi Stadium. There was one major change made in the playing XI as the Pakistan team management dropped Mohammad Nawaz to include fast-bowling Faheem Ashraf in the side.
Nawaz had remained wicketless against India in Pakistan’s previous clash. The left-arm spinner conceded 55 runs from eight overs. Many criticised Babar Azam for introducing spinners and letting Indian batters Ishan Kishan and Hardik Pandya play themselves in against spinners to rescue the side from 66/4.
On the other hand, Ashraf recently got a chance against Afghanistan in the three-ODI series on Sri Lankan soil. He got the wickets of opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran with the new ball in the third ODI of the series.
Including Ashraf in the side does not affect Pakistan’s batting depth either. While Ashraf is yet to prove himself in the ODI format, he has had a good record in franchise cricket down the order.
Pakistan progressed to the Super Fours stage with three points. They topped Group A after a massive 238-run win over debutants Nepal. In the next match, Pakistan had bowled out India for 266 from 48.5 overs but rain played spoilsport and not a ball could be bowled in the second innings.
Pakistan’s Playing XI vs Bangladesh: Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Agha Salman, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf
On the other hand, Bangladesh faced a massive blow as their in-form batter Najmul Hossain Shanto who scored a century against Afghanistan in the previous ODI was ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury. Shanto had also scored 89 runs against Sri Lanka despite wickets falling at the other end.
Litton Das has been named as Shanto’s replacement. Das had to fly back home due to illness. With Das’ comeback, few tweaks are expected in Bangladesh’s top order. Mohammad Naim is yet to fire whereas Mehidy Hasan Miraz made good use of the opportunity to open the innings against Afghanistan and scored a century.
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