Pakistan ask Bangladesh to bat; both XIs packed with quicks

Nahid Rana, Ebadot Hossain and Taskin Ahmed are the quicks for Bangladesh, while Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Abbas will do the job for Pakistan

Danyal Rasool

Published: May 8, 2026, 4:07 AM (7 hrs ago)

Toss Pakistan chose to bowl vs Bangladesh

Pakistan won the toss and elected to field first in Dhaka in the first of two ICC World Test Championship matches on Friday.

In the first of two Test matches, captain Shan Masood opted to give his bowlers a go first up on a warm morning. Pakistan go into the game with three fast bowlers, which Masood attributed to a pitch that looked like one with some greenery on it. Sajid Khan missed out, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Abbas the seam bowlers.

Pakistan also handed two debuts, with Azan Awais opening the batting alongside Imam-ul-Haq and Abdullah Fazal slated to come in at three. Pakistan were forced into an extra change after Babar Azam was ruled out on Thursday night following pain in his left knee.

Bangladesh have also lined up with three quicks in Nahid Rana, Ebadot Hossain and Taskin Ahmed, who returns after an extended spell on the sidelines in red-ball cricket. He last played a Test in late 2024.

Bangladesh won the last series these two sides played, a clean 2-0 sweep in August 2024 in Rawalpindi. Both teams are playing Test matches for the first time in several months, and have played just two Tests in this World Test Championship cycle.

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hassan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Ebadot Hossain

Pakistan: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Fazal, Shan Masood (capt), Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Noman Ali, Hassan Ali, Muhammad Abbas

Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000

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