LAHORE: Having already won the series, hosts Pakistan start as clear favourites when they face Bangladesh in the third and final T20 International here at the Gaddafi Stadium on Sunday.
The Salman Ali Agha-led side will certainly be looking to sweep the series, something the Green-shirts last achieved in back-to-back series against Bangladesh and West Indies in Dhaka and Karachi, respectively during November-December 2021.
The home team won the series opener by 37 runs and clinched the second game by 57 runs, both at the Gaddafi Stadium, to take an unassailable lead in the series.
It is pertinent to mention here that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) in the past couple of years or so made many changes in captaincy of the national squad as well as the team management.
Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf on Friday acknowledged that frequent changes in captaincy and team management adversely affected the team.
“No doubt the team management and captain have been changing [in the past two, years]. It definitely disturbs the team which subsequently impacts results. The team management should always be [appointed] on long-term and it is also the aim (of the PCB],” Haris told reporters after Pakistan won the second T20 against Bangladesh in front of a large crowd at the Gaddafi Stadium.
The pacer said that recently-appointed T20 captain Salman was backing the youngsters.
“Salman is also supporting several youngsters in the [present] team. [In this way] he can develop a strong squad that will play with a bonding,” Haris insisted.
On whether the Pakistan pacers, like their batting colleagues, were being asked to adapt to modern demands of the game, Haris said fast bowlers in the present-day cricket always faced challenges.
“Fast bowlers are always under pressure because of the [batting-friendly] pitches and [short] boundaries. Modern-day cricket is fast and we always try to give minimum runs but still a total of 200 has become a par score in T20s,” he underlined.
When asked whether he was missing old partners like Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam in T20 Internationals, Haris in a subtle response said that the players who were competing alongside any team-mate in any game were their partners.
“I bowled alongside Shaheen and Naseem [Shah] in many matches and learnt a lot in their company. And I also played with Hasan Ali, who always motivates youngsters and we always enjoy that,” right-armer Haris said.
He was agreed that due to lot of cricket there should be a rotation programme for the cricketers, keeping in mind the workload on them. He said now Pakistan had a good back-bench strength in the bowling department and rotation policy would be on the card.
Haris said as many as eight bowlers were tested by Pakistan in the second T20 International against Bangladesh because the match condition was conducive for that move.
He praised young dashing opener Sahibzada Farhan, who hit a swashbuckling 74 off 41 balls, his first T20I half-century, in the second T20 after being given a chance in place of experienced Fakhar Zaman.
“Farhan has done well at domestic level and then emerged as the leading scorer of [this year’s] PSL. So, it is good that he grabbed the chance,” Haris said.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh pacer Tanzim Hasan Sakib, who batting at ninth position smashed a 31-ball 50 with five sixes and one four in a rearguard action in the second T20, said quick dismissals after a good start, dented his team’s chances in the game.
Young Bangladesh opener Tanzid Hasan contributed a 19-ball 33 in a brisk 44-run opening stand alongside opening partner Parvez Hossain Emon. However, once Emon departed, only Tanzim and Mehidy Hasan Miraz (23) could reach double figures.
Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2025
