Pak vs Ban: 3 Players to watch out for from Bangladesh national cricket team in 2nd Test

The ongoing Bangladesh tour of Pakistan has reached an interesting point, where the home team needs to win the final test of the series to avoid a whitewash against a team that had never defeated them in the last 13 games before the start of the first match. In this situation, it will be interesting to see how the Pakistan team fares at Rawalpindi National Cricket Stadium.

The 2nd game will be a crucial one for the Shaheens, who faced severe criticism from fans and former cricketers after their disappointing loss in the first game of the series by 10 wickets. Another loss could drop Shan Masood and Co. to the bottom of the ICC World Test Championship points table. However, it’s not going to be easy for the home team to beat the Bangla Tigers, who performed brilliantly in all departments in the opening game of the series, making history by defeating India’s arch-rival by 10 wickets.

In this article, we will highlight three players to watch out for from the Bangladesh national team in the 2nd Test match against Pakistan.

3 players to watch out for

1. Shadman Islam

After narrowly missing out on scoring a brilliant century in the first innings for the Bangladesh national cricket team, getting out on 93 runs, the left-hand opening batter will be ready to play a similar knock in the upcoming game. In the previous game, he stood firm at the crease when wickets were falling at one end and formed a crucial 94-run partnership for the 3rd wicket, helping the visitors take a lead of 117 runs.

Interestingly, Shadman Islam came back in the last game for the national side after a wait of 3 years. He got selected in place of ace players Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar, who were not picked in the squad after their average performances in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, where the Bangladesh team failed to qualify for the semifinals after losing a must-win game against Afghanistan.

2. Najmal Hossain Shanto

Although Bangladesh secured a win in the last match through a combined team performance, where batters made crucial partnerships and spinners picked key wickets in Pakistan’s middle order during the second innings, the Bangladesh team captain, Najmal Hossain Shanto, missed out on scoring runs, getting out for 16 in the first innings. Heading into this important game, the Bangladesh team will have high hopes from their captain to lead the team forward in the ongoing series.

3. Mushfiqur Rahim

Mushfiqur Rahim is one of the senior players from the Bangladesh team who has been with the team since the 2007 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Though he has retired from the shorter format of the game, he continues to show his experience and class in the longer format, standing as a pillar for the Bangladesh team in difficult situations. 

In the last match, he played a match-winning knock of 191 runs, helping Bangladesh establish a lead of 117 runs, against Pakistan in the second innings. He formed a partnership of 196 runs with Litton Das when wickets were falling at the other end, taking the team to a total of 565 runs before being bowled out.

Bangladesh fans will have high expectations from this senior player after his impeccable performance in the opening game of the series. After losing the first game of the series, the Pakistan national cricket team will face the final match of the series on August 30, 2024, at Rawalpindi National Cricket Stadium in Pakistan