‘Playing Pakistan is just another match’

Bangladesh pacer Shoriful Islam pointed out that the wealth of experience amongst players of his side gave them the edge in the historic 2-0 Test series win against Pakistan last week. 

Wicket-keeper batter Mushfiqur Rahim is 10 matches away from playing 100 Tests, while Shakib Al Hasan (69) and Mominul Islam (63) were the other two amongst the Tigers' ranks to have played more than 50 Tests. Meanwhile, in the Pakistan camp, former skipper Babar Azam (54) was the only player to have crossed the half-century mark and the closest to the premier batter was current skipper Shan Masood with 35 matches. 

"We had a greater chance of winning as we had more experienced players," Shoriful said in a video message on Bangladesh Cricket Board's Facebook page on Sunday.

"You can look at the contrast in the number of matches played between players of each side. Shakib [Al Hasan] always pointed it out; Mushfiqur Rahim is our most experienced player. He has played 91 or 92 [90] Tests. Those examples were set in our minds. We were ahead of them and we could win was the thought for us."

The left-arm pacer also credited the preparation Bangladesh were able to get, courtesy of an early arrival in Pakistan, for the wins. Bangladesh could not train and the team's foreign coaches could not come to the country owing to the political crisis last month. 

"I think the preparation in Lahore helped us because of the facilities that were available to us. It was hotter in Lahore than it was in Rawalpindi. That helped us to gain an advantage," Shoriful said.

Shoriful played a key part in Bangladesh's 10-wicket win in the first Test at Rawalpindi. He struck in back-to-back overs in the first session on Day 1, removing Shan Masood and Babar Azam, which gave the visitors a solid start. He picked up another scalp in the second innings to help his side to a historic victory. The 23-year-old was ruled out of the second Test due to injury and was replaced by Taskin Ahmed. 

Bangladesh's next assignment will take them across the border in India where they will play two Tests and three T20Is. The series starts with the first Test on September 19.

"India are comparatively a more experienced side than Pakistan in Tests. They are a big team. I think if we do well against a big team then more people worldwide will follow us and watch our cricket," Shoriful said.

Bangladesh women's cricket team have an opportunity to clinch their third ODI series against Pakistan as they face the visitors in the final match of the three-match series at the Sher-e-Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur today.

Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty's match-winning boundary in the Super Over clinched a tense second ODI and got the Tigresses back level in the series last Tuesday.

Bangladesh spectacularly levelled the series 1-1 against India in their last ODI series at home with the dramatic third ODI ending in a tie as that game did not feature a Super Over. Even though the option for a Super Over will be there today, Joty made her intentions clear about not having to use it.

"I am not thinking of a draw. There is a big possibility for us to clinch the series and everything will be dependent on playing positive cricket. It will be a big achievement if we can win the series," Joty said at a press conference yesterday.

The Tigresses, who won the preceding T20I series 2-1 against Pakistan, will hope for a repeat of the same scoreline in the ODI series but familiar batting issues have pegged them back recently.

Bangladesh were all-out for just 81 in the first game with only three batters reaching double figures.

"We have been struggling with our batting. Those who are staying in the crease are staying for too long but not scoring enough or if the top-order is doing well, the middle-order is getting out quickly. If we can put on 200-plus at least in case we bat first, it will be difficult to chase," Joty said.

Several members of the Bangladesh cricket team took to social media to wish their fans 'Eid Mubarak' on the joyous occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr today.

This year, the national team cricketers are getting to spend Eid-ul-Fitr with their family and loved ones, which is not the case every year.

Often, the cricketers are caught up in the busy schedule of international cricket and have to spend the day thousands of miles away from home,

But this year, the Eid holiday fell between international engagements for the Tigers and most of them took this opportunity to head back to their ancestral homes and spend the day with close ones.

Many cricketers shared a glimpse of their Eid celebrations for fans on social media. Here is a look at some of the posts shared on the occasion by them.

Veteran Bangladesh batter Mushfiqur Rahim has reached career-best ICC Test batting ranking of 17th following his epic 191 against Pakistan in the first Test in Rawalpindi, which Bangladesh won by 10 wickets last week.

Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan, who slammed a big hundred and a half-century in the same Test, was rewarded with seven spots and achieving a new career-high rating by moving inside the top 10 at equal 10th.

Elsewhere, Harry Brook made good grounds among England batters. While veteran right-hander Joe Root maintained his place as the No.1 ranked Test batter in the world following England's success in the opening Test of their series against Sri Lanka in Manchester, teammate Brook has made a massive jump on the back of scores of 56 and 32 during that Old Trafford contest.

Brook rose three places to fourth overall, with the 25-year-old catapulting past Pakistan's Babar Azam, Australia's Steve Smith and India's Rohit Sharma courtesy of his strong recent form.

Babar dropped a whopping six places to fall from equal third to ninth following a rare failure in the first innings of Pakistan's Test against Bangladesh.

Sri Lanka duo Dinesh Chandimal (up four places to 23rd) and Kamindu Mendis (up eight rungs to 36th) and England newcomer Jamie Smith (up 22 to 42nd) also rose in the Test batter rankings.

India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin remained out in front of the rankings for Test bowlers, although fellow tweaker Prabath Jayasuriya moved up one place to ninth for Sri Lanka following his five wickets in Manchester against England.

England seamer Chris Woakes (up four rungs to 16th) and Sri Lanka's Asitha Fernando (up 10 spots to 17th) also gained some ground, while there are new career-best ratings for Pakistan right-armer Naseem Shah (up four spots to 33rd) and England's Gus Atkinson (up four places to 42nd) following good returns from their recent appearances.

Woakes also improved one place to move up to eight on the list for Test all-rounders, with India spinner Ravindra Jadeja out in front of that category.

In a Test career spanning over 19 years, Mushfiqur Rahim has accomplished more in the red-ball format than most Bangladeshis. 

In his long career, which began in May of 2005 at the age of 18, the wicketkeeper-batter has emerged as the country's greatest accumulator of runs in Tests (5676 runs), has featured in the highest number of Test matches (88) and has Test centuries in five countries, most by a Bangladeshi.

At 37, well into the twilight stage of his career, Mushfiqur's chances of experiencing new challenges in Test cricket are slimmer compared to younger players like Zakir Hasan or Shadman Islam.

But in one sense, the veteran batter and the two youngsters mentioned above are on equal terms. Just like Zakir and Shadman, Mushfiqur is right now in Pakistan for the first time as part of the Bangladesh squad for the two-Test series, beginning with the first Test in Rawalpindi on August 21.

"This is my first time in Islamabad. It is beautiful. The facilities are also quite great," Mushfiqur said in a clip sent by the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) yesterday.

Mushfiqur has played Tests in eight countries including Bangladesh. The two notable omissions in his resume are Australia and Pakistan.

Not having played a Test in Australia is a common feature in the careers of all active Bangladeshi cricketers barring Mashrafe Bin Mortaza, as the Tigers have not toured Down Under for a Test series since 2003.

Mushfiqur did have an opportunity to play Tests in Pakistan in 2020 when the Tigers toured the country to play two Tests and three T20Is.

However, at that time the wicketkeeper-batter had opted out of the series, citing concerns over safety. He was the only Bangladeshi player who refused that tour.

Mushfiqur, however, has played white-ball matches for Bangladesh in Pakistan before, having taken part in the 2008 and 2023 editions of the Asia Cup, playing a total of seven ODIs.

Mushfiqur was amongst the five players of the 16-member Test squad that went to Pakistan ahead of time to take part in Bangladesh 'A' team's first four-day match against Pakistan Shaheens in Islamabad, which ended in a draw on Friday, as part of preparation for the upcoming Test series.

However, those plans got dented a bit owing to poor weather during the four-day game and to make matters worse, the right-hander also copped a blow on his finger in a net session, which kept him from batting in the second innings of the 'A' team's match.

Limited involvement in the build-up to the series seems to have only made Mushfiqur more eager to make his first Test experience in Pakistan more memorable.

"We wanted to come here and have some sessions before the rest of the Test side comes… The training was interrupted due to a couple of rainy days. So, we couldn't properly practise. In the first couple of days, we only had one net session and it was also not a proper one.

"I tried my level best [in the match], but the first innings it didn't go our way. I hurt my fingers in the nets so I didn't bat in the second innings. Hopefully, I will recover very soon and will play the first Test," he added.