We have all our bases covered against Pakistan: Hathurusingha

Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha feels that his side is ready to face any challenge thrown at them by their Pakistani counterparts in the first Test of the two-match series set to take place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, starting Wednesday.

In a bold move, Pakistan named their playing XI for the opening Test yesterday, two days before the match begins, where they picked four pacers - Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali – alongside seven genuine batters.

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Bangladesh have packed five pacers in their 16-member squad, of which four will be available for the first Test as Taskin Ahmed is in the squad only for the second Test.

Pacers Khaled Ahmed, Nahid Rana, Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam are available for selection and the Tigers also have two spin-bowling all-rounders in Shakib Al Hasan and Mehedi Hasan Miraz, which emboldened Hathurusingha to claim that they have 'all bases covered'.

"The Pindi pitch looks more favourable for fast bowling and batting. They [Pakistan] also didn't pick any spinners," Hathurusingha told reporters during a press conference in Rawalpindi yesterday.

"Lately, we have developed a lot of good fast bowlers in our rank as well. If the condition favours, they will do well. Shakib Al Hasan and Miraz are two world-class allrounders. We have all our bases covered for whatever they throw at us," he added.

Batting department has been a real concern for Bangladesh for quite a long time and when it comes to the longest format, their performance has been especially poor.

Bangladesh could not go past the 200-run mark in five of their last eight innings in Tests. They went past the 300-run mark thrice with a highest total of 338 runs against New Zealand in November last year in Sylhet.

"Batting has been a concern for a while, but not for one reason. We play in result-oriented wickets back home. Sometimes 250 is a winning score in those pitches. Obviously when you play on these pitches, the batters have a tough time.

"The pitches in Pakistan generally favour batting. It is a good contest between bat and ball. We will show better results on these pitches," he said, adding that Shakib is doing well with his batting despite his recent struggle with an eye problem.

"He is actually batting well. He has looked fitter. He has done some eye testing as well. He is saying that it helped him with the problem he had," said the Sri Lankan.

Meanwhile, Hathurusingha claimed that spin-bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed has gelled really well with the group and the players are taking his advice not only on bowling but also about other sectors as well.

"I know Mushy. We met in 1988. That's how old we are. He has fitted into the coaching group really well. He has a lot of experience working with England and Pakistan. He has a lot of local knowledge and experience from other parts of the world. Not just bowling, we take his advice in certain decisions."