"My dream wicket" - Shoriful Islam on Babar Azam ahead of PAK vs BAN Test series
Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam dreams of taking Babar Azam's wicket in the upcoming two-Test series against Pakistan, beginning on August 21 in Rawalpindi. The 23-year-old recalled playing with the former Pakistan captain in Pakistan Super League (PSL) and remembered how good he was as a person.
Despite Babar's recent inconsistent performances, he has a formidable record in Tests against Bangladesh. The Lahore-born cricketer has aggregated 242 runs only in 3 Tests, averaging 80.67 with one hundred and a half-century.
Speaking to reporters, Islam named Babar and Pakistan captain Shan Masood as their main batters and reckons playing away will be a challenging task. As quoted by cricketpakistan.pk, he stated:
"Babar and Shan Masood are world-class batters. But our bowling attack is also strong enough. We can put up a strong fight against them. Our task will be difficult as they play in their home ground. We have to stay prepared. Babar is a tough challenge for Bangladesh. So, we have to take his wicket quickly. He is also my dream wicket. I will be very happy if I can get his wicket. I played with him last year in the CPL. He is a very good person."
The two sides last played a Test series in late 2021 in Bangladesh. The visitors wrapped up the series 2-0 as they were a standout team across formats.
Shoriful Islam hopes to extract purchase from Rawalpindi pitch
Shoriful Islam expressed his optimism to find sufficient help from the surface in the first Test. Further, he underlined that Test cricket requires players to be in a different mould physically and mentally, but is confident of coming into the groove. The left-arm pacer said:
"I've heard there's expected to be patches of grass on the pitch, though I haven't seen it myself yet. Every fast bowler likes that because it offers seam movement. So, if that's the case, it's definitely a good thing. Test cricket requires a different kind of preparation, mentally and physically. But we still have some time before the match, and I believe that by the 21st, with more practice sessions, my fitness and bowling will be well-suited for red-ball cricket."
The first Test will take place in Rawalpindi, while Karachi will host the second and final game.