Dhaka, Aug 12 : The Bangladesh cricket team left for Pakistan on Monday for the two-match Test series, starting in Rawalpindi on August 21. Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Sunday announced the pace-heavy squad for Pakistan as Mushfiqur Rahim, Taskin Ahmed and Shakib Al Hasan returned to the team. However, Shahadat Hossain, who last played against Sri Lanka in March, has been left out of the squad.

"Bangladesh's Team is heading to Pakistan for the #WTC25 clash. The first Test begins on August 21 in Rawalpindi and the second on August 30 in Karachi," the Bangladesh Cricket posted on X.

Bangladesh will arrive in Lahore on August 13 and will train at the Gaddafi Stadium from August 14-16, before travelling to Islamabad on August 17 and holding practice sessions at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from August 18-20 in the run-up to the first Test.

"The emphasis was on picking our best players for this version," chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said. "This is a well-balanced squad. The likes of Mushfiqur (Rahim), Mominul (Haque) and Shakib (Al Hasan) have played 216 matches combined and there is no substitute for that kind of experience.

Taijul (Islam) and Miraz (Mehidy Hasan) have been leading the spin department for a long time and have over 350 wickets between them. We also expect Shanto (Najmul Hossain), Litton (Das) and the other batsmen to step up because to be competitive against Pakistan, we will need a team effort."

"We have selected five pacers mindful of the fact that Taskin Ahmed will only play the second Test. He hasn't bowled in a Test since June last year and we have decided to include him in the 'A' Team for the second four-dayer against Pakistan 'A' to get him into the rhythm for longer version matches," he added.

Bangladesh Test squad: Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Zakir Hasan, Shadman Islam, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Litton Kumar Das, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Nayeem Hasan, Nahid Rana, Shoriful Islam, Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Syed Khaled Ahmed.

/IANS