The Bangladesh Test team has arrived in Pakistan early to prepare for the two-match series, which starts on August 21 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Islamabad. The second game will take place on August 30 at the National Stadium in Karachi, as both of them are part of the third and ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC).
Amidst the unrest and disturbing situations in the country, Bangladesh made the trip as they are looking to earn some vital points in the WTC points table for the 2023-25 season.
These points are vital for the home side, Pakistan, who is at number five in the table and can aim to go higher in the rankings, as they will feature in three more Tests against England in late Autumn.
Bangladesh lodge complaint over slow internet in Pakistan
Even though the Bangladesh side is enjoying the on-field reparations for the Test series, the players are having a difficult time in the hotel, as the recent reports by Geo News revealed that the visiting players have expressed their concerns and frustrations over the slow internet in the hotel, as they are not satisfied with the arrangements.
Also Read: BCB Seeks Time For Women’s T20 World Cup 2024; Potential New Host Emerges
The reports have claimed that the touring players have lodged a complaint to their team management regarding the slow internet, which is causing them inconvenience while connecting with the family back home, and that too after the poor and broken situation in their home country.
Bangladesh Test side arrived in Pakistan on August 12 before they assembled and trained at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore till August 16. On the following day, they are expected to travel to Islamabad for the opening Test of the two-match series.
Their captain, Najmul Hossain Shanto, has received a massive boost with the return of their veteran spin all-rounder and former captain Shakib Al Hasan, who will use his experience to come up with exceptional performances with both bat and ball. The same goes with their premier pacer, Taskin Ahmed, who was out of action in this form of the game for a long time.
One of the biggest concerns for the red-ball games in Pakistan has been their pitches, which were nearly dead in the last few seasons, as all of New Zealand, England, and Australia found out with huge and consistent scores of over 500 in an innings.
The home board hired the curator from Dubai International Stadium, who used to prepare spinning tracks for the Green Brigade when they made the United Arab Emirates (UAE) their home for a long time.
However, the track for the first Rawalpindi Test is expected to be a green surface. The reason behind this is that the Bangladesh batters are quite good against the spinner on the slow and low surfaces, and they could explore comfortably on those green tracks against the quality pacers of the hosts.
Also Read: Watch: Babar Azam Gets Hit In The Box In The Nets Before 1st Test vs Bangladesh
Rain is also predicted throughout the five days of the Test match, and which will make it more frustrating for the teams, especially the batters, while the possibility is to have a no-result in the first game.
The last few months haven’t been easy for the Green Brigade as they made an early exit from the group stage of the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America. The batters were not in form. Shan Masood lost his first Test series as captain in Australia, and he will look to make a great comeback in his maiden Test series as the leader of the side at home.