New Delhi: Babar Azam will be eyeing a massive feat in Pakistan’s upcoming two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home. The first Test of the two-match series is all set to get underway at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, August 21. Pakistan will be looking to improve their chances of qualifying for the WTC final with a series win against the visitors.
The series will also mark the return of Babar in red-ball cricket for Pakistan and the star batter will play under new captain Shan Masood, who replaced him at the helm post the ODI World Cup last year. Babar will be looking to achieve a huge milestone in the Test series against Bangladesh.
The Pakistan star currently has 2661 runs to his name in the World Test Championship (WTC) and will be hoping to become the first batter from his country to complete 3,000 runs in the competition. Babar also has a chance to reach the milestone before Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are currently behind him on the list of the highest run-getters in the WTC.
Babar will become only the 5th batter after the likes of Joe Root, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Ben Stokes to complete 3,000 runs in the World Test Championship. With 4,598 runs from 55 matches, Root is currently the highest run-getter in WTC. He is followed by Labuschagne (3904 runs) and Smith (3486 runs) in the 2nd and 3rd spot, respectively.
Babar is currently the 6th highest run-getter in WTC and is ahead of the likes of Rohit (2552 runs) and Kohli (2235 runs) in the run-scoring charts. The Pakistan batter will need at least 339 runs in the two-match Test series against Bangladesh at home to achieve the feat of 3,000 runs in WTC before Kohli and Rohit.
Pakistan to go with an all-pace attack in 1st Test
Pakistan are set to head into the 1st Test against Bangladesh with an all-pace bowling attack having released spinner Abrar Ahmed and top-order batter Kamran Ghulam from their squad. Both players will join Pakistan Shaheens in the second four-day match against Bangladesh A which will get underway from Tuesday, August 20.
Abrar’s absence means Pakistan will be without a specialist spinner in their bowling attack against Bangladesh in the Test series opener. The series will also mark the return of pacer Naseem Shah, who will be looking to make an impact after bowling a sensational spell for the Pakistan Shaheens in their 1st unofficial Test against Bangladesh A.
Pakistan star Babar Azam is on the cusp of achieveing a massive feat in the World Test Championship before Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
