Pakistan vs Bangladesh: PCB announces 12-member squad for first Test against Bangladesh

LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced a 12-member squad for the first Test against Bangladesh.

Pakistan and Bangladesh will clash in the first Test of the two-match series tomorrow (Friday). The match is scheduled to be played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chittagong which will start at 9 am (PST).

Led by Babar Azam, the Test squad includes Mohammad Rizwan (vice captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abid Ali, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi.

The second and final Test between the two teams will commence from Saturday, 4 December at Sher-e-Bangla Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

Addressing a press conference today, skipper Babar Azam said, "Our team is impressive and this time around, will make a good impression in the Test Championship."

Azam acknowledged that the team had had less time to adjust to Test cricket after months of playing T20 matches.

The Pakistani skipper said his team was not taking Bangladesh lightly.

"Conditions here are different [than Pakistan is used to] hence we cannot take Bangladesh lightly," he said. "These conditions are a bit difficult and batters have to stick around on the crease to get settled."

Babar Azam said the Men in Green will have to play with focus and patience to do well in the series.

Pakistan will be brimming with confidence when they take the field tomorrow against Bangladesh. The visitors completed a 3-0 whitewash over the hosts last week, winning the third and last T20 match of the series in thrilling fashion.