Pakistan vs Bangladesh: PCB releases Test team's departure schedule

By
Web Desk
|
Pakistani right-handed batsman Rizwan plays a shot during a Test match. Photo: ESPNcricinfo.
Pakistani right-handed batsman Rizwan plays a shot during a Test match. Photo: ESPNcricinfo. 

  • National Test squad to enter bio-secure bubble in Lahore on Nov 18. 
  • Test squad to leave for Dhaka on Nov 21. 
  • Pakistan cricket team to play first Test match on Nov 26 at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. 


The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has released the Test team's departure schedule, according to which the national squad will enter the bio-secure bubble in Lahore on November 18. 

The national Test squad will leave for Dhaka on November 21, after staying in the bubble for three days. After a day's rest, the Test squad will join the T20 squad on November 23. 

The national Test squad will leave for Chittagong on November 24 while the T20 squad, after the conclusion of the white-ball series, will arrive in Lahore the same day. 

Pakistan are scheduled to play three T20Is at the Shere Bangla Stadium in Dhaka starting November 19. 

The second T20 clash between the two sides will take place on November 20 while the final one will be played on November 22. 

The Pakistan cricket team will play its first Test match against Bangladesh on Friday, November 26 till November 30 at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram. 

The national Test squad will then play the second Test match back at the same venue where the T20 series will be held, the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Dhaka, on Saturday, December 4. 

Pakistan announces Test squad for Bangladesh series

A day earlier, Pakistan announced the Test squad for the Bangladesh series, with opener Imam-Ul-Haq, middle-order batter Kamran Ghulam and off-spinner Bilal Asif earning the nod of the selectors for inclusion in the 20-player squad. 

Haris Rauf, Imran Butt, Shahnawaz Dahani and Yasir Shah, who were part of the 21-player side that toured the West Indies in July/August, have been replaced. 

Left-handed Imam has been recalled following his stellar performances in the ongoing Quaid-e-Azam Trophy in which he has aggregated 488 runs in five innings of four matches, including an unbeaten double-century. Imam had played his 11th and last Test against Australia in Adelaide in November/December 2019.

Bilal replaced Yasir Shah who is still recovering from a thumb injury he sustained during the National T20 and is yet to feature in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. The off-spinner has taken 16 wickets in five Tests and has been drafted in the side considering the Bangladesh squad includes left-handed batters and also looking ahead to the home Tests against Australia.

Kamran has returned to the side after missing the West Indies tour. He was in the squad for the home series against South Africa after scoring a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy record of 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season. Kamran is presently in Sri Lanka with the Pakistan Shaheens where he scored 58 not out and 45 in two innings of the rain-affected two-match four-day series.

Pakistan Test squad:

Babar Azam (captain), Mohammad Rizwan (vice-captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Bilal Asif, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, and Zahid Mahmood.