"He has looked fitter": Chandika Hathurusinghe on Shakib Al Hasan ahead of Test series against Pakistan

Rawalpindi [Pakistan], August 20 : Ahead of the two-match Test series against Pakistan, Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusinghe showed confidence in all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and said that he is performing brilliantly in the nets after consulting the doctor for his eye problem.
Earlier this year, the former Bangladesh skipper consulted a doctor in Singapore before taking part in the Bangladesh Premier League in January. Shakib took a break after the ODI World Cup which took place last year in India and returned back to the sport in 2024. He also featured in Major League Cricket in the United States and played the Global T20 League in Canada before coming to this tour.
"He is actually batting well. He has looked fitter. He has done some eye testing as well. He is saying that it helped him with the problem he had," Hathurusinghe said ahead of the first Test.
Further, the head coach spoke about the Lahore pitch where the practice match between Pakistan A and Bangladesh A took place.
"The Lahore facilities are excellent. We thank the PCB for inviting us to come early. We had a good three days of practice over there. We had six players come earlier in the A team in Islamabad. In terms of preparation, we are very happy. In terms of mood, we are very much looking forward to the challenge," Hathurusingha added.
The two-match Test series between Pakistan and Bangladesh will kick off on August 21 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Pakistan. The two Tests against Bangladesh will mark the first assignment of Jason Gillespie as Pakistan's Test coach.
Currently, the Shan Masood-led side is two spots above the visitors in the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 points table. This series will be the first one for both teams following the completion of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 which took place in the West Indies and in the United States.
Talking about both team's last five matches in the longest format of the game, Pakistan and Bangladesh managed to win their last two encounters. On the other hand, both teams lost their first three matches in the last five games they played.
There will be a bit of grass on the Rawalpindi pitch and it would be favourable for the batters. The last two matches on this pitch have been high-scoring where teams have managed to score 657, 579, 476-4 (declared), and 459 in their first innings.
Notably, there is a possibility of rain on all five days of the Test match.
The second Test of the two-match series will be played from August 30 to September 3.PCB on Monday announced their playing eleven for their first Test match against Bangladesh.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali are the top four pacers for Pakistan who will play against Bangladesh in the first Test match.
Pakistan's playing XI for the 1st Test against Bangladesh: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (VC), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali.
Bangladesh squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (C), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed, Syed Khaled Ahmed.