Pakistan playing XI for 1st Test vs Bangladesh announced, Sarfaraz Ahmed kicked out

Pakistan National Cricket Team have revealed their playing XI for the first Test of the series against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team. The series opener between the teams will be played at the Rawalpindi International Cricket Stadium from Tuesday (21st August).

Abdullah Shafique will be opening the innings in the first Test against Bangladesh. Youngster Saim Ayub, who hasn't been able to make a mark in his international career so far, has retained his place in the team and would be keen to set the stage on fire in his first-ever home Test.

Skipper Shan Masood will be batting at No.3, while Babar Azam has been allowed to take the No.4 position. The former captain of the team has struggled to get going in the Tests of late and would want to start fresh. He hasn't registered a single fifty since 2022 in the longest format of the game for the Pakistan National Cricket Team.

Vice-captain Saud Shakeel will be taking the No.5 spot, while Mohammad Rizwan has been preferred over Sarfaraz Ahmed in the team as a keeper-batter. The ex-captain in the Australia series was picked ahead of Rizwan, and it was expected that he would be the first-choice keeper in the team for the ongoing series.

Salman Ali Agha is the only all-rounder in the team and with no Abrar Ahmed in the team, he is expected to play a crucial role with his spin bowling. Naseem Shah also will be making his comeback in the team having not played Test cricket for a while because of his injury. He would be eager to grab his spot back in the team.

Shaheen Afridi, along with Khurram Shahzad, and Mohammad Ali are other seamers in the team. The pacers are expected to be the key for the team in the first Test against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team.

Pakistan playing 11 for the first Test against Bangladesh:

Here's Pakistan playing 11 for the first Test against Bangladesh:

Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali

The Pakistan National Cricket Team management has asked the pitch curators to prepare the green track for the first Test. This is because they feel that Bangladesh batters are good against spinners but can be exploited easily on grassy pitches, giving the advantage to the home team.

Under the leadership of Shan Masood, Pakistan didn't start well in Australia. They went on to lose the series by the margin of 3-0. However, this time, with the series being at home, it will be a great opportunity for him to register his first-ever series win as the captain of the team.

The last time these two teams played each other in the Test series, it saw Pakistan winning quite comfortably. They would be keen to get the same result this time around and get some crucial World Test Championship points under their belt.