Former Australian head coach Tim Nielsen appointed Pakistan's High-Performance coach in Tests
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed former Australian head coach Tim Nielsen as the high-performance coach of the side in Tests. The move will see Nielsen pair up with Test head coach Jason Gillespie for the upcoming two-Test series at home against Bangladesh.
The duo have previously worked together in South Australia and Nielsen's experience is likely to bolster Pakistan's backroom staff in the red-ball format. He was Australia's head coach, replacing the legendary John Buchanan, from February 2007 until September 2011. The Men in Yellow won the 2010 Champions Trophy in South Africa under Nielsen.
The 56-year-old also enjoyed an extensive domestic career for South Africa, playing 101 first-class and 49 List-A games. Nielsen finished with over 3,800 runs in first-class cricket and 639 runs in the List-A format, while also donning the wicket-keeping gloves.
However, the England-born gloveman never played for Australia despite his exploits in the domestic circuit.
Nielsen has joined Gillespie's staff and is collaborating on overseeing Pakistan Shaheen's training camp preceding the Bangladesh Test series.
Pakistan announced a 17-member squad for Bangladesh Tests
Pakistan have announced their 17-member squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Bangladesh on August 7. The series starts with the first Test in Rawalpindi on August 21 before moving to Karachi for the second encounter on August 30.
While Shan Masood remains the captain for his second series, with the first ending in a 0-3 defeat to Australia, middle-order batter Saud Shakeel has been named his deputy.
Batters Mohammad Hurair, Kamran Ghulam, and pacer Mohammad Ali have earned national selection for their consistent performances on the domestic circuit. Meanwhile, Imam-Ul-Haq, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz, Noman Ali, and Sajid Khan have not been retained in the squad, while Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim Jr. were left out due to injury.
Pakistan are currently fifth on the World Test Championship (WTC) table, only 2 points behind fourth-placed Sri Lanka. They defeated Bangladesh 2-0 the last time the two teams met in Tests in 2021.
Pakistan's squad for Test series vs Bangladesh
Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal (subject to fitness), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Naseem Shah, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), and Shaheen Shah Afridi.