PAK vs BAN: Pakistan drop Shaheen Afridi for 2nd Test

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On Thursday, August 29, Pakistan revealed their 12-man probables for the second Test matchup with Bangladesh. The management of the club made a significant change when they brought in wrist spinner Abrar Ahmed and benched left-arm seamer Shaheen Afridi. Moreover, Mir Hamza was one of their twelve probables.

Afridi’s performance in the first Test was forgettable as he finished with stats of 2/88 in 30 overs. Notably, in the first Test, Pakistan deployed a four-pronged pace attack, with Naseem Shah, Shaheen Afridi, Khurram Shahzad, and Mohammad Ali. was so forced to rely on the three part-time spin specialists Agha Salman, Saim Ayub, and Saud Shakeel.

But the strategy was a complete failure as Bangladesh took a commanding 117-run lead in the first innings thanks to a massive 191-run effort by Mushfiqur Rahim. In their second innings, Pakistan was once again given a mirror as they were crushed by the spin combo of Mehidy Hasan Miraz (4/21) and Shakib Al Hasan (3/44) who combined to take seven wickets and bowl out the hosts for a mere 146.

Therefore, in order to secure their historic first-ever Test victory against their Asian rivals, Pakistan set a modest goal of just 30 runs for Bangladesh in the fourth innings, which they successfully knocked down in just 6.3 overs. The team management therefore added wrist spinner Abrar Ahmed for the second Test after taking note of the lessons they learned from the previous Test.

At Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi, on Friday, August 30, the second Test is scheduled to begin. Pakistan will be determined to beat the Bangla Tigers, who are eager to win a historic series, by avoiding an embarassing 0-2 defeat.

Pakistan 12-man probable

🚨 Pakistan's 12 for the second Test 🚨#PAKvBAN | #TestOnHai pic.twitter.com/9TprXzdzjx
— Pakistan Cricket (@TheRealPCB) August 29, 2024

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