Pakistan’s red-ball head coach Jason Gillespie has opened up on the decision to exclude pacers Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah from the second Test against Bangladesh which the hosts lost by six wickets.
Pakistan were stunned by Bangladesh 2-0 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, their first series defeat against the Asian side.
Pakistan fielded three pacers - Mir Hamza, Khurram Shahzad, and Mohammad Ali - while benching Shaheen and Naseem.
“We felt that the attack we put on the park would be able to do the job. We could argue they did when we had the opposition 26/6 but they fought themselves back into the game. At that point, not many people were talking about selection,” he said after the game.
“We looked at the conditions, saw the surface here, and thought this was the best make-up of the bowling attack to take wickets on this surface,” he added.
On the other hand, former Australian pacer backed skipper Shan Masood. “Shan I feel has led the side very well. We just haven’t played well as a team and that’s the reality.
“We need to sharpen up on certain areas, and we will sharpen up. I really want to back and believe in these players, they are good enough and have shown glimpses of how good we are. We just need to do it more often and consistently,” he added.
The Tigers chased an 185-run target on day five of the second Test with veterans Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan registering their first-ever series win over Pakistan.
Bangladesh opener Zakir Hasan provided a blistering to the run chase by attacking Pakistan bowlers. The left-hander smoked 40 runs off 39 balls.
He was the first man to depart as Mir Hamza shattered his stumps on the team score of 58.
Shadman Islam (24) departed soon after as Khurram Shahzad got the better of him.
Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mominul Haque continued the start they were given by the openers. Najmol made 38 and was dismissed by Salman Ali Agha while Mominul walked back for 34, giving Abrar Ahmed his first wicket.
Veterans Mushfiqur (22*) and Shakib (21*) stayed till the end and completed the chase.
The guests continued their innings from 42-0 today after the rain ended the play early on Monday.
Pakistan now lost five straight Tests - three against Australia and two against Bangladesh -in the ongoing World Test Championship.
Pakistan are at eighth spot on the WTC points table with a percentage of 19.05%.
- Naseem Shah
- Shaheen Afridi
