"Need to use home advantage" - Naseem Shah unhappy with Rawalpindi's docile surface used for PAK vs BAN 1st Test
Pakistan's pace spearhead Naseem Shah has hit out on the surface used for the opening Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi. The right-arm speedster has stressed the need to maximize home advantage as much as possible moving forward.
Pakistan's four-man specialist pace attack toiled almost the entire Day 4 as the pitch failed to break enough to enable them to take wickets. Mushfiqur Rahim top-scored with 191 as the hosts were on the field for 167.3 overs.
Speaking at a presser after Day 4, Naseem, who bowled 27.3 overs, said the heat in Rawalpindi and playing a Test after a long time meant he took some time to discover his rhythm. The youngster believes the spinners, if not pacers, should have had assistance from the surface.
As quoted by ESPN Cricinfo, he stated:
"I'm playing a Test after more than a year and took me time to find my rhythm. The kind of weather we have right now, it's extremely hot, and we didn't get the kind of help from the surface as a bowling unit as we expected."
"If we're incapable of making the sort of pitches that help fast bowlers, then we should look at whether we can produce spin wickets. However you do it, you need to use home advantage."
The 21-year-old reckons that Test cricket must be kept entertaining, elaborating:
"People come to enjoy Test cricket in this heat, so you need to entertain them. What shouldn't happen is you're on the field at home and thinking this is hard work. The more you keep cricket entertaining, the better. It's something we need to seriously think about."
The four-pronged pace attack of Pakistan sent down a staggering 117.3 overs for their nine scalps. Saim Ayub, who bowled in Tests for the first time, took the remaining one.
"We believed the fast bowlers would get plenty of help here" - Naseem Shah
Naseem feels the presence of grass means the ball will not spin either and explained:
"We believed the fast bowlers would get plenty of help here. But what we were expecting didn't exactly happen. With four fast bowlers, your mindset is to take wickets with the quick balls."
"However, I don't think it'll spin either, because there's grass on the pitch. But the pitch is very dry underneath, and the ball isn't getting much help off the grass because of that, even if it appears like it might off the surface."
Bangladesh managed to take a lead of 117 and left Pakistan at 23/1 off 10 overs ahead of Day 5.