Pakistan Test Cricket. (Source – Twitter/X)
Bangladesh have landed in Pakistan and the hosts will aim to capitalise on home advantage and provide the disgruntled fans something to smile about. Pakistan have shown dismal performance in the last two ICC events in white-ball cricket. They are eye a resurgence in the red-ball series against Bangladesh and are set to enter the first Test with a full-fledged pace attack.
Pakistan have taken pride in their pace attack over the years and the nation is widely known to have created one of the most lethal pacers in history. The country celebrated Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar but the mantle is now with youngsters such as Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.
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Speaking of all-pace attack, this will be the first time Pakistan will be entering a game without a spinner in 28 years. The sole spinner named in the Test squad for the Bangladesh series, Abrar Ahmed, was released ahead of the first Test join the Shaheens squad, leaving Khurram Shehzad, Mir Hamza, and Mohammad Ali to complete the pace battery.
Other than the speedsters, Aamer Jamal could be termed as the standout bowler. On the recent tour to Australia, he sparkled with 18 wickets and was handy with the bat lower down the order. Unfortunately, the right-arm pacer has been grappling with lower back complaints since the start of the summer and will be a miss in the impending series.
Pakistan last played with an all-pace attack in December 2019, also in Rawalpindi. It was a monumental fixture as it brought Test cricket back to the country after a hiatus of 10 years. The match, which ended in a draw, saw Pakistan bowl only once as the pacers managed to pick six wickets before the visitors declared on 308 runs.