Pakistan tour of West Indies 2021 [Preview]

Pakistan is scheduled to tour Bangladesh in the month of November and December to play three T20Is and two Tests, starting from 19^th November at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka.

In the recently concluded ICC Men’s T20 World Cup played in the UAE, Bangladesh performed poorly and failed to win a game in the Super 12 stage of the competition. Host Bangladesh have announced their 16-member squad for the T20I series against Pakistan. Six changes have been made to the squad as Liton Das, Soumya Sarkar and Rubel Hossain have been dropped from the setup.

On the other hand, veteran all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan and pacer Mohammad Saifuddin are missing from the squad due to injuries sustained in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. Wicket-keeper Mushfiqur Rahim has been rested for three-match T20I series. He will be looking to make adequate preparations for the two-match Test series against Pakistan.

On the other hand, Khushdil Shah, Shahnawaz Dhani and Iftikhar Ahmed have been included in Pakistan’s squad for the three-match T20I series. Babar Azam will lead the side for the one-day series while Mohammad Rizwan will be first-choice for  Pakistan for the tour of Bangladesh.

Shahnawaz Dhani, Imran Butt, Haris Rauf and Yasir Shah are the notable absentees from the Test squad. Imam-ul-Haq have managed to find a place in the Test squad, while Bilal Asif makes it to the setup in place of injured Yasir Shah.

Kamran Ghulam is uncapped player included in Test squad for the two-match series against Bangladesh.

In the batting department, the side will be relying on the likes of Babar Azam, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Rizwan to deliver the bulk of the runs.

Since November 2020, wicket-keeper Mohammad Rizwan has topped the batting charts for Pakistan in the T20 format. In 26 matches, Rizwan has accumulated 1161 runs at an average of 77.40 with one century and eleven half-centuries to his name.

Besides Rizwan, Captain Babar Azam has put in phenomenal numbers for Pakistan in the shortest format of the game. In 23 matches, Azam has scored 826 runs at an average of 43.47 with one century and eight half-centuries to his name.

In the bowling department, the side will be relying on the likes of Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Shadab Khan and Usman Qadir to make crucial breakthroughs.

Since November 2020, pacer Haris Rauf has topped the bowling charts for Pakistan in the T20 format. In 21 T20Is played for Pakistan, Haris Rauf has claimed 25 wickets at an economy rate of 8.65. He will be looking to do well with the ball in hand in this upcoming three-match T20I series.

On the other hand, Mahmudullah Riyad will lead the side for the forthcoming T20I series against Pakistan.

In the bowling department, the side will be relying on the likes of Mustafizur Rahman, Mahedi Hasan, Nasum Ahmed and Shoriful Islam to deliver much-needed breakthroughs in this T20I series.

Since November 2020, Left-arm pacer Mustafizur Rahman has topped the bowling charts for Bangladesh in the 20-over format. In 16 matches played, Mustafizur has claimed 26 wickets at an economy rate of 7.08.

All three-matches will be played at Shere Bangla National Cricket Stadium at Dhaka on 19^th, 20^th and 22^nd November. The conclusion of T20I series will be followed by two-match Test series. The opening game of the Test series will be played at Chattogram from 26^th till 30^th November. The second and final game will be played at Dhaka from 4^th till 8^th December.