Babar Azam returned to the Pakistan side for their second Test against Bangladesh at the Sylhet International Cricket Stadium, Sylhet, as the Men in Green look to bounce back from their first Test drubbing. Babar missed out on the first Test due to a knee injury but is back for the second clash, replacing opener Imam-ul-Haq.
Pakistan were forced to make last-minute changes to their Playing XI for the first Test when Babar pulled out at the 11th hour due to his knee problem. The Men in Green handed Karachi opening batter Abdullah Fazal a debut, who went on to hit fighting fifties in both innings despite Pakistan going down by 104 runs.ย
Pakistan make three changes to team, Shaheen Afridi out
Babar was one of the three changes that Pakistan made to their Playing XI for the Sylhet Test. A notable change was dropping Shaheen Shah Afridi for speedster Khurram Shahzad, while Sajid Khan replaced Noman Ali as the third change.
Bangladesh made two tweaks to the side that won its first-ever home Test against Pakistan in Dhaka. Left-arm fast bowler Shoriful Islam replaced right-arm speedster Ebadot Hossain, and opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim came in for Shadman Islam.
Pakistan lost first Test by 104 runs
Pakistan won the toss and opted to bowl first. They had lost the first Test by 104 runs despite being in a strong position to play out a draw. Pakistan were in control at 119/3 before losing their last seven wickets for 54 runs to get bowled out for 163.
To make matters worse, Pakistan were also docked eight World Test Championship points due to slow over rate, and their players were handed a fine of 40% of their match fees. Pakistan look to bounce back now.ย
Pakistan (Playing XI): Azan Awais, Shan Masood(c), Babar Azam, Abdullah Fazal, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Salman Agha, Khurram Shahzad, Sajid Khan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas
Bangladesh (Playing XI): Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Tanzid Hasan Tamim, Najmul Hossain Shanto(c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das(w), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana