"Shakib and even Musfiq and Taskin are all supportive of the youngsters" - Bangladesh spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed hails senior players
Bangladesh spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed hailed senior players like Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim, and Taskin Ahmed as extremely supportive of the youngsters in the squad ahead of the Test series against Pakistan. Bangladesh are set to play two Tests in their tour of Pakistan, starting August 21.
After back-to-back Test series wins at home against Ireland and Afghanistan, followed by a drawn series against New Zealand, Bangladesh suffered a 0-2 whitewash at home in their most recent Test series earlier this year.
In a press conference ahead of the Pakistan series, Mushtaq Ahmed said as quoted by Times of India:
"Shakib and even Mushfiq and Taskin are all supportive of the youngsters in the team, especially those touring Pakistan for the first time."
He also praised the Bangladesh players for being very coachable by saying:
"The players are enthusiastic to improve and listen to you and learn about tactics and strategies. I hope I can make a positive impact for them. They (Bangladesh) have some good quality players and they now have some good pace bowlers as well and I think they are on the right path. They just need to have self belief they can do better overseas."
Shakib, a former member of the parliament under Bangladesh's previous government, has been given the go-ahead to join the national side for the Pakistan series.
Bangladesh have never beaten Pakistan in a Test match
Bangladesh will have their task cut out in the upcoming two-Test series in Pakistan, considering their wrecked past in the red-ball format against the Asian neighbors.
The two teams have met each other 13 times in Tests with Pakistan coming out on top in 12 and the other ending in a draw. The last two teams played in a Test series was in Bangladesh in 2021 with the visitors completing a 2-0 whitewash.
Bangladesh's last visit to Pakistan was in 2020 but the two-Test series was reduced to one due to Covid-19 with Pakistan winning the completed game.
The first Test of the upcoming series will be played at Rawalpindi from August 21 to 25 and the second encounter will happen at Karachi from August 30 to September 3.