“Rawalpindi offers something for seamers. The pacers will definitely have a big role here as well as the batsman to adapt to the pitch.”

HABIBUL BASHAR

SELECTION COMMITTEE MEMBER

The Bangladesh team spent their entire day at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad after the cricketers reached Pakistan for the second phase of the tour after a long flight yesterday.

Unlike the first phase of the tour, when the Tigers flew by chartered plane to take part in a three-match T20I series last month, the Bangladesh Cricket Board this time opted to fly through regular commercial flights.

Mominul Haque and his troops will start training today after taking a thirty-minute drive to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.

The weather, which was at around four degrees Celsius when the team landed in Islamabad, will be a big challenge for Bangladesh.

“We have opted to rest the whole day today [Wednesday] because it was a long flight. We will practise from tomorrow but we have only one day before the Test starts. It was pretty cold when we landed here and although we didn’t go out of our hotel, it will be interesting to see how the weather behaves in the coming days,” national selection committee member Habibul Bashar told The Daily Star yesterday.

The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium has hosted nine Tests, with the last — when Sri Lanka drew against the hosts — played after a gap of nearly 15 years.

There has been a lot of discussion about the Tigers’ need to improve in the longest format, with both Bangladesh captain Mominul and coach Russell Domingo emphasising on winning Test matches away from home, something they want to kickstart from Pakistan.

Bashar was the highest run-getter for the Tigers in a three-match Test series on a tour of Pakistan in 2003 although the visitors lost 3-0 and he informed that pacers would play a big role in Rawalpindi.

“Although I have never played in Rawalpindi, my experience in Karachi and Lahore were on more batting-friendly pitches compared to Rawalpindi, which offers something for seamers. The pacers will definitely have a big role here as well as the batsman to adapt to the pitch,” Bashar added.

HGHLIGHTS

Sri Lanka managed to draw the last Test against Pakistan in Rawalpindi after rain hampered the game. Sri Lanka declared their first innings on 308 for 6 riding on century from Dhananjaya de Silva where Pakistan in reply finished on 252 for 2 courtesy of centuries from Abid Ali and Babar Azam.