{"id":164738,"date":"2026-05-07T20:47:34","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:17:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=164738"},"modified":"2026-05-07T20:47:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T02:17:34","slug":"bangladesh-pakistan-set-to-renew-test-rivalry-in-mirpur-babar-azams-fitness-in-doubt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=164738","title":{"rendered":"Bangladesh, Pakistan set to renew Test rivalry in Mirpur; Babar Azam\u2019s fitness in doubt"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Bangladesh and Pakistan open their two-match Test series in Mirpur on Friday, with the host aiming to complete a remarkable double after its historic away whitewash in 2024.<\/p>\n

Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has made no secret of his ambitions, insisting his side must post big first-innings totals to give its potent pace attack the platform to take 20 wickets.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe important thing is scoring runs. If we score 400 in 80 overs, no problem. If someone takes 120 overs, I also have no problem,\u201d Shanto told a pre-match news conference on Thursday. \u201cSo the runs are important.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Shanto<\/p>\n
Shanto believes his fast bowlers hold a slight edge over Pakistan\u2019s attack.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n AFP\n <\/p>\n

\"lightbox-info\"\/<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

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Shanto believes his fast bowlers hold a slight edge over Pakistan\u2019s attack.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n AFP\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The pitch at Mirpur, which carries a grassy tinge ahead of the first day, has set the tone for what promises to be a pace-dominated contest.<\/p>\n

Shanto believes his fast bowlers hold a slight edge over Pakistan\u2019s attack.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the pace bowling department, I would say both teams have good pace attacks,\u201d he said. \u201cBut if you ask me, I would say our pace bowling attack is maybe slightly ahead, if I look at the last few years and how they have been bowling.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALSO READ | BAN vs PAK Live Streaming Info, 1st Test<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

Pakistan skipper Shan Masood politely pushed back.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not going to dwell on comparisons. They\u2019ve got their qualities, we\u2019ve got our qualities,\u201d Masood said, while also acknowledging the quality of the Bangladesh attack. \u201cWe\u2019re relishing the occasion of facing a good attack and hopefully getting some runs against them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bangladesh has bolstered its batting with the inclusion of attacking opener Tanzid Hasan Tamim, while Taskin Ahmed returns from injury to strengthen an already experienced pace unit alongside the exciting Nahid Rana.<\/p>\n

Shanto wants Tamim to play his natural game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe way he plays ODI and T20 cricket, I want him to play the same way,\u201d Shanto said.<\/p>\n

\"Pakistan<\/p>\n
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Pakistan is eager to avenge its 2024 series loss, although Masood rejected the notion of revenge.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n AFP\n <\/p>\n

\"lightbox-info\"\/<\/figcaption><\/div>\n

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Pakistan is eager to avenge its 2024 series loss, although Masood rejected the notion of revenge.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n AFP\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Pakistan will take confidence from Babar Azam\u2019s rich run of form in the Pakistan Super League, with Masood hopeful that the prolific batter can carry that momentum into red-ball cricket.<\/p>\n

However, there was uncertainty in Pakistan\u2019s camp on Thursday after Babar underwent a scan following the team\u2019s practice session, with his fitness for the series opener yet to be confirmed.<\/p>\n

Pakistan is eager to avenge its 2024 series loss, although Masood rejected the notion of revenge.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must give credit to the Bangladesh team, the way they came out, they prepared in 2024,\u201d he said. \u201cSo we\u2019re not going to take any opposition lightly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Published on May 07, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


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Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Bangladesh and Pakistan open their two-match Test series in Mirpur on Friday, with the host aiming to complete a remarkable double after its historic away whitewash in 2024. Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto has made no secret of his ambitions, insisting his side must post big first-innings totals to give its potent pace attack the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":164739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/AFP__20260507__B24269V__v1__HighRes__CricketBanPakTestTrophy.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pgnRh4-GR4","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=164738"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164738\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/164739"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=164738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=164738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=164738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}