Pakistan fast bowler Naseem Shah has expressed his disappointment with the Rawalpindi pitch amidst the ongoing first Test against Bangladesh. He believes that the pitches have been overly batsman-friendly, providing little assistance to the bowlers.
Naseem Shah Disappointed with Home Pitches
The Pakistan Cricket Board has faced criticism for the quality of pitches prepared for home Tests. In response, the board announced the appointment of Tony Hemming as the new head curator, hoping for improvements in future matches. Ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, there were expectations that a green-top pitch would be prepared, offering pace and bounce. However, the actual pitch turned out to be different from what was anticipated.
Given the nature of the pitches, the Pakistan team management decided to release Abrar Ahmed from the squad and opt for a four-man pace attack. However, this strategy has proven to be counterproductive as the pitches have not provided any assistance to the fast bowlers, allowing the batsmen to score runs with relative ease. Naseem Shah, one of the standout fast bowlers in the match, spoke to the media after the fourth day's play. He expressed his frustration with the batsman-friendly pitches being produced in Pakistan and criticised the PCB for their role in preparing such surfaces.
"I think we've had plenty of series now where we've had such (home) pitches. I think they tried their best to make the pitch helpful for bowlers, but maybe due to heat only with the new ball, it was helpful, and after that, conditions settled down," Naseem said at the post-day press conference.
Naseem Shah's advice to PCB for home pitch
Naseem Shah offered valuable advice to the Pakistan Cricket Board, suggesting that they should leverage their home advantage by preparing pitches that favor their team's strengths. He emphasized that if green-top pitches are not feasible in Pakistan, the board should consider preparing spin-friendly surfaces instead.
"We must leverage our home advantage by tailoring pitches that suit us. If we can't prepare a green pitch, we can try a spin-friendly track—but we should always entertain the fans,” the 21-year-old Pakistani pacer added.
Naseem Shah mentioned that the Pakistan team had anticipated the pitch to offer assistance to fast bowlers. However, the reality has been different, as the pitch has not behaved as expected.
"Our mindset was that the pitch here would help fast bowlers. But the conditions weren't the way I expected. Obviously, when you go with 4 fast bowlers, your mindset is to attack with pacers," Naseem further stated.
At the close of play on day four, the Pakistan National Cricket Team was trailing by 94 runs, with a score of 23/1. The match appears to be heading towards a draw unless there is a dramatic change in the pitch conditions, providing assistance to the seamers. In the first innings, Pakistan faced an early setback, being reduced to 16/3. However, Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel staged a remarkable comeback, rescuing Pakistan with exceptional batting performances. Rizwan scored a brilliant 171 runs, while Shakeel contributed 141 runs, helping Pakistan post a total of 448/6d. In response, Bangladesh batted even more impressively, scoring 565 runs. Mushfiqur Rahim (191), Shadman Islam (93), and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (77) were the standout performers for the visitors.
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