Shan Masood: Advocating for a fair opportunity for Saim Ayub

Pakistan has chosen Saim Ayub to open the innings for the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi to maintain continuity, as per captain Shan Masood. Masood also mentioned that they were contemplating selecting Muhammad Hurraira, but he will have to bide his time for his international debut.

Hurraira, 22, has been a heavy scorer in domestic cricket and last month he scored 218 against a Bangladesh High Performance XI in a four-day game in Darwin. Earlier in his debut season in 2021-22, he racked up 986 runs at an average of 58, including a triple-hundred. As for Ayub, he scored 0 and 33 in his only Test so far, against Australia in January in Sydney.

"We have plenty of riches in our opening batting," Masood said. "Imam-ul-Haq isn't in this series. We don't limit ourselves to 17 players. We have 20-25 players who are part of our squad. We initially felt that it was our ideal chance to check Muhammad Hurraira - what he could offer the Pakistan team after doing so well in domestic cricket in the last three or four years. We rested Imam in this series. Saim, who is in good touch now, showed potential in the second innings against Australia. As a team, you have to send a message of continuity. So we will try to back the players. We want to give him a fair chance."

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Pakistan will also go into the series opener against Bangladesh with an all-pace attack, a rarity in their selection policy. Masood explained that the conditions in Rawalpindi influenced the combination of their side. He said they wanted Mohammad Ali in the line-up to do a similar job to Aamer Jamal who had excelled in Australia earlier this year. Ali's 19 wickets in PSL 2024 propelled him into the limelight but he has also been a consistent performer in domestic cricket. He has 150 wickets in 41 first-class games at an average of 25.72.

"Firstly, you have to look at a few factors," Masood said. "You have to take into account Pakistan's position in the WTC. We at least have to win the home matches. Secondly, you have to look at the ground conditions. Thirdly, we have to look at our team combination.

"We considered Aamer Jamal as a weapon in Australia. When the other three fast bowlers showed discipline, Aamer Jamal used to attack. He got crucial wickets in the middle overs. He used to eliminate Australia's tail, which usually makes the difference by scoring 80-90 runs. As Shaheen [Shah Afridi] and Naseem [Shah] will take the new ball, we wanted someone to bowl like Aamer Jamal. I think Mohammad Ali gave us the surprise element in the PSL but we have been seeing it for a long time. He hits the deck hard. He has the quality to move the ball with the seam and in the air. He has extra pace too."

Having not made the finals of the last two WTC cycles, Pakistan are hoping to buck the trend and bring cheer to their fans.

"I think you want your fans and media to write good things about the team," Masood said. "We want to play cricket that everyone enjoys watching. Obviously, it is a result-oriented business so you need to have results in mind. We were sixth and seventh before [in the WTC], but we would like to play in the final this time. We want to play finals. We have to win our home Tests. Our challenge is to play consistently and play an exciting brand of cricket."

The first Test against Bangladesh will also be Pakistan's first under coach Jason Gillespie. Masood wanted the new staff's approach to align with Pakistan's strengths. "We have a different coaching staff," he said. "They bring a different mindset and culture but we also have to look at where we have to go as a side. I think fast bowling has been Pakistan's strength. We have six quality fast bowlers. You need 20 wickets to win a Test. That's a non-negotiable. Our goal is to get those 20 wickets and then batters can back up the bowlers. That's how we went into the Australia series, and that's how we will go into this series."