RAWALPINDI: Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has revealed the reason behind dropping pace bowler Mir Hamza from the Playing XI for the first Test against Bangladesh.
The first of the two-match Test series is set to commence tomorrow at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and Shan Masood-led Pakistan will go with an all-pace attack.
The team management decided to include Mohammad Ali instead of Mir Hamza as the fourth fast bowler, alongside Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Khurram Shehzad.
The skipper provided insight into the decision to leave out Mir during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
He rejected the idea that Ali is considered a better bowler, instead highlighting the impact of playing conditions and the overall team composition as the basis for Mir’s omission.
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“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,” Shan explained.
“He [Ali] 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,” he added.
The first Test against Bangladesh marks only the second instance when Pakistan will field an all-pace attack in a home Test in 28 years.
The last time Pakistan went with an all-pace attack was at the same venue in 2019 against Sri Lanka.
The two-match series part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) will run from August 21 to September 4 with both matches to be played at the same venue.
The second match of the series, however, was originally scheduled to take place at National Stadium, Karachi.
However, owing to the renovation work currently underway at the venue, the PCB, in consultation with the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided to shift the match to Rawalpindi.
Pakistan’s Playing XI for the first Bangladesh Test: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammad Ali.
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