Under the leadership of Shan Masood, Pakistan is set to host Bangladesh for two Test matches, both of which are going to be part of the ongoing 2023-25 cycle of the World Test Championship (WTC), later this month. The opening game of the series will take place in Rawalpindi from August 21 to 25, while the second one will be played at the National Stadium in Karachi from August 30.
This will be their first red-ball game after the inclusion of new red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie and assistant coach Azhar Mahmood, as the training camp of Pakistan is set to begin on August 11 at the Pindi Cricket Stadium.
The visiting country has been going through tough times at home due to their recent disturbing political situation. The Najmul Hossain Shanto-led side, who is yet to declare their squad for the red-ball series, is going to arrive in Islamabad in the early hours of August 17.
Pakistan declares experienced umpires and match referee for Bangladesh Tests
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has declared their match officials for the two-match red-ball series against Bangladesh. Former Sri Lankan middle order atter Rajna Madugalle will be the match referee for both games. There are two umpires from England and Pakistan each, while one umpire is from South Africa.
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For the opening game in Rawalpindi Test, England’s Richard Kettleborough will be the on-field umpire alongside the Proteas’ Adrian Holdstock. Michael Gough will be the third umpire for the series, while Rashid Riaz will act as the fourth umpire for the five days.
When the teams move to Karachi for the second game of the series, Gough and Holdstock will perform as the on-field umpires, while Richard Kettleborough will serve as the third umpire. In this game, Asif Yaqoob from the local will be available as the local umpire in the Test match.
Both these two teams haven’t done well in the recent cycle of WTC, and their roads ahead don’t look good either. Pakistan is in the fifth position in the points table, having won the first two Tests against Sri Lanka but lost their next two against Australia last year.
After this series, they will host England in the late Autumn before taking on West Indies at home at the start of next year. In between, they will also face South Africa in an away Test series.
Bangladesh, they are in the eighth position, winning just one game against New Zealand at home. They lost the next to the same side, which was followed by another couple of defeats against Sri Lanka. After these away series, they will trip to India for another two red-ball series.
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Meanwhile, the challenge for the hosts is to make better pitches at the start of this home season. For the last couple of years, the tracks in this part of the world have been roads where the batters have been enjoying their time in the middle, but the bowlers have hardly got rewards for their hard work.
BCB is likely to get in touch with their former captain, Shakib Al Hasan, who is currently involved in the Global T20 league in Canada. His NOC is till August 12, and on the following day, he is supposed to be back in the country. It will be interesting to see if the left-arm spin all-rounder makes him available for the two-match Test series in Pakistan, where they lost last time with a 1-0 margin.