Pakistan will host Bangladesh for the two-match Test series which is scheduled to start from August 21 where Shan Masood will lead Men in Green for the upcoming assignment. Pakistan have so far failed to perform in the World Test Championship (WTC). This home series against Bangladesh will be their 2024–25 WTC season. The first Test match is scheduled to start on Wednesday (August 21) at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and the final Test match will take place at the National Stadium in Karachi on August 30.
After losing 0-3 against Australia in a three-match Test series, Shan Masood & Co. would like to make a comeback in the upcoming home series to keep their chances alive for the final of World Test Championship (WTC) 2025 final.
Pakistan star speedster Shaheen Shah Afridi will look to create history during the series as he is just nine wickets away from 100 WTC scalps. If Shaheen manages to get nine wickets then he will become the first bowler to take 100 wickets in the WTC for Pakistan.
Here are the bowlers with the most wickets in WTC.
- Shaheen Shah Afridi – 91
- Naseem Shah – 51
- Yasir Shah – 41
- Noman Ali – 39
- Abrar Ahmed – 38
Both Pakistan and Bangladesh have announced their squad for the upcoming series and Shaheen Shah Afridi will lead the pace attack for the hosts. Bangladesh have already arrived in Pakistan for the Test series because of the political crisis in their country and PCB also announced tickets for the first Test. However, the second Test match will be played without spectators as the National Stadium in Karachi is currently under maintenance for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025.
Here are the squads for Bangladesh and Pakistan for the Test series.
Bangladesh's Test squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (Captain), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumer Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed.
Pakistan's Test squad: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal (subject to Fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk) and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
