Tension has arisen in the Pakistan national cricket team following their recent loss to Bangladesh in the first Test match.
Local media reports indicate that the team management is frustrated with the overall performance, particularly of the fast bowlers, during the series opener.
Pakistan faced a 10-wicket defeat in the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi on August 25. Prior to the match, the team had dropped spinner Abrar Ahmed from the squad and selected Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, and Mohammad Ali as their specialist bowlers.
The team has faced significant criticism due to their poor performance in this opening Test. This defeat marked Bangladesh’s first-ever Test win over Pakistan, with Mushfiqur Rahim earning ‘Player of the Match’ honors for his exceptional batting in the first innings.
According to Geo Super, the team management and senior players, including captain Shan Masood and coach Jason Gillespie, have expressed their displeasure with the bowlers’ performance. They are concerned about the fast bowlers’ reduced pace and believe that the bowlers did not capitalize on the favorable conditions in the recent match.
Pakistan suffered a 10-wicket Loss To Bangladesh In 1st Test
In their first innings, the home team scored 448 runs for the loss of six wickets. Wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan played a stellar innings, remaining unbeaten with 171 runs off 239 balls, including 11 fours and three sixes. Saud Shakeel also contributed significantly, making 141 runs off 261 deliveries with nine boundaries.
Bangladesh responded with 565 runs in their first innings, with Mushfiqur Rahim narrowly missing a double century. Rahim scored 191 runs off 341 balls, featuring 22 fours and one six. Shadman Islam (93), Mehidy Hasan Miraz (77), and Litton Das (56) also made important contributions.
This gave Bangladesh a 117-run lead. Pakistan could only manage 146 runs in their second innings. Besides Mohammad Rizwan (51) and Abdullah Shafique (37), the rest of the Pakistani batsmen failed to deliver on the final day.
Pakistan set a modest target of 30 runs for Bangladesh, which was comfortably chased down without loss by Zakir Hasan (15) and Shadman Islam (9). Prior to this match, Pakistan had won 12 out of 13 Tests against Bangladesh, with one match ending in a draw.
Jason Gillespie, making his debut as Pakistan’s Test coach, started with a loss. Captain Shan Masood has now faced four consecutive defeats. Pakistan will look to avoid a series loss in the second and final Test at the same venue, starting on August 30.
