Pakistan's star batter Babar Azam was down to his knees after copping a blow on the groin during a nets session ahead of the 1st Test against Bangladesh, beginning on August 21 in Rawalpindi. The bowler on the occasion was Khurram Shahzad as the ball swung back appreciably to hit him on the groin.
Shan Masood and his men will play Test cricket for the first time since January 2024 as they begin a busy season of the red-ball format. After playing against Bangladesh, the men's team will also host England and West Indies. Sandwiched between those two Test series is the tour of South Africa, where Pakistan will play two more red-ball matches.
Squads for Pakistan vs Bangladesh Test series:
Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumar Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed.
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal (subject to Fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Shaheen Afridi.
Masood and co. are currently 5th in the World Test Championship (WTC) and must win the considerable amount of their remaining Tests to reach the final.
