Pakistan Raise Eyebrows After Resting Naseem Shah On Grassy Rawalpindi Pitch

Pakistan made a surprising revelation by resting pacer Naseem Shah for the second Test against Bangladesh , leading to a lot of reaction from the cricketing community.

After rain washed out the opening day, Bangladesh won the toss and chose to bowl first. They were forced to bring in Taskin Ahmed instead of Shoriful Islam, who was ruled out due to a groin injury.

While the decision was straightforward, Pakistan sprang a surprise by resting Naseem Shah for the game. Naseem made his red-ball return last game after a long injury hiatus. In Pakistan’s demoralising loss in the series opener, Naseem picked up 3-93 from 27.3 overs as the home side had to field for close to 168 overs, with Bangladesh racking up 565 in the first innings.

Earlier, ahead of the match, Pakistan also rested pace spearhead Shaheen Afridi, who has endured a difficult few months in the longest format. He was released from the squad.

Leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and left-arm pacer Mir Hamza replaced the pair.

"We would have bowled first with the wicket under covers," captain Shan Masood said at the toss. "It's a four-day game now. From the 12, we've rested Naseem, so Abrar and Mir Hamza come in for Shaheen and Naseem."

"I think this has a little bit more coverage of grass," he added. "That's why, we've played the extra spinner just to see if we can get some help. And I think Abrar offers something different and and we've seen him whenever he's operated on on green tracks as well. He's got a little bit of help from them. We've decided to play three quicks, Abrar and Salman as the spinners."

The decision to rest Naseem surprised some, especially with Pakistan one-nil down in the two-Test series. He was later seen bowling during the lunch interval, with Bangladesh winning the toss and opting to field first. Interestingly, Naseem was not given an NOC by the PCB for playing in the Hundred, with focus on being available and fit for international commitments.

No Shaheen Shah. No Naseem Shah. — Bharath Ramaraj (@Fancricket12) August 31, 2024

Official word is that Naseem has been rested; it's somewhat unusual to rest a player when looking to avoid a major series loss.

Particularly since Naseem was denied an NOC for the Hundred to be fully fit for this series. #PAKvsBAN — Danyal Rasool (@Danny61000) August 31, 2024

Pakistan played one match in last 45+ days...and they dont have any match for 35 days after this Test so Naseem Shah rested for what lol? https://t.co/otm4t4bodP — JSK (@imjsk27) August 31, 2024

Naseem Shah bowling during the lunch interval #PAKvsBAN pic.twitter.com/QCKWydnmdc — Danyal Rasool (@Danny61000) August 31, 2024

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