LAHORE: The Pakistan Shaheens cricket team will face Bangladesh ‘A’ in the first four-day match at the Islamabad Club from August 13-16.

The second four-day match will be played at the same venue from August 20-23. The two sides had most recently played a two-match series in Darwin, Australia, which ended in 1-1.

Both Pakistan Shaheens and Bangladesh ‘A’ have packed their sides with players who will feature in the ICC World Test Championship fixtures, to be played in Rawalpindi and Karachi on August 21-25 and 30th August to 3rd September, respectively. This is due to the fact that both Pakistan and Bangladesh have not played a Test since January and March respectively. Pakistan’s last Test was against Australia in Sydney, while Bangladesh previous appearance in the current ICC World Test Championship cycle was against Sri Lanka at home in March.

Test probable in the Pakistan Shaheens are Saud Shakeel (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub and Sarfaraz Ahmed, while Hasan Mahmud, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Nayeem Hasan and Zakir Hasan are the Bangladesh ‘A’ players who will join the Test side following the four-day match.

Saud Shakeel, who was recently named Pakistan Test vice-captain and has previously led Shaheens red-ball side against Sri Lanka ‘A’ in October-November 2021, will captain the home side in the first four-day match. Anamul Haque, who has represented Bangladesh in 74 international matches to date, will captain Bangladesh ‘A’.

In the past three years, the Shaheens have played six four-dayers - winning three, losing one and drawing two. The Shaheens began their preparations for the red-ball series on 7th August at the Islamabad Club under the supervision of head coach Umar Gul, while Bangladesh ‘A’ arrived in Islamabad on 10th August.

Sameen Gul has been withdrawn from the Shaheens squad as a precautionary measure. A replacement will be announced in due course.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024