The World Test Championship Cycle (WTC) 2025-27 resumes after a few months hiatus as sub-continent giants Bangladesh hosts neighbours Pakistan in a 2-Test match series. The first of those Test matches takes place at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur, Dhaka and begins on Friday, 8th May 2026. Bangladesh will be led by Najmul Hossain Shanto while visitors Pakistan will be led by Shan Masood.
It’s a series that falls under the WTC cycle. Both teams are playing their second series in this cycle. Both teams have played two matches so far. While Pakistan has won one and lost one to occupy the 5th spot in the standings, Bangladesh have drawn one Test match and lost the other one as they occupy the 8th spot in a 9-team tournament. It’s still early days in the tournament for them. Pakistan hosted South Africa and drew that series 1-1 while Bangladesh lost to Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka 0-1. The stage is set for an interesting series between the two teams.
Overview
The stage is set for a sub-continental battle as Bangladesh faces Pakistan in a two-match Test series with the first Test set to begin in Mirpur, Dhaka. The second Test of the series will take place in Sylhet. Both nations will meet in the longer format after a gap of around two years, and this time, Pakistan will aim to avenge their embarrassing defeat against Bangladesh in 2024 when the latter clinched a historic whitewash series win on Pakistani soil.
During a recent press conference, chief selector and former Bangladesh captain Habibul Bashar indicated that Bangladesh will be moving to an attacking approach in the red-ball format and therefore, has made numerous changes in the squad for the first Test, like adding top-order batter Tanzid Hasan Tamim.
Bangladesh have announced the squad only for the first Test of the upcoming series so far and in that they have included two uncapped players, namely Tanzid and keeper-batter Amite Hasan, who averages 49 in first-class cricket. Shoriful Islam, Nayeem Hasan and Taskin Ahmed have also been brought back into the squad. Taskin and Shoriful are making a comeback to the Test fold after a gap of 18 months. Khaled Ahmed, Jaker Ali, Hasan Mahmud and Hasan Murad have been dropped from the squad.
In the coaching department, there has been one change. Ashiqur Rahman has been named as the interim fielding coach, after the regular fielding coach, James Pamment, has been ruled out due to back pain.
The Pakistan side will be led by Shan Masood. Like hosts, the visitors have also added uncapped players in its squad. The four uncapped players are batters Abdullah Fazal and Azan Awais, pace-bowling all-rounder Amad Butt and keeper batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori. All of them have been selected on the back of their strong performances in the President’s Trophy. Notably, Awais has performed exceptionally well over the past two seasons of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy which is Pakistan’s premier domestic first-class competition.
There have been some changes in the coaching set-up too. Former skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed, who guided Pakistan’s U19 side to the Asia Cup title as mentor-manager, has been appointed as the new red-ball head coach. Along with him, Asad Shafiq and Umar Gul have been named as batting and bowling coaches, respectively.
The last time Bangladesh played in the format was in November 2025 during a two-match home Test series against Ireland, which the hosts won 2-0. Apart from the white-wash, another significant milestone was achieved during the series as as former captain Mushfiqur Rahim became the first-ever Bangladeshi cricketer to play 100 Test matches. Ireland were no match for Bangladesh on those turning tracks of Sylhet and Mirpur as the visitors lost both games by a hefty margin.
Pakistan last played in the format in October 2025 in a two-match home series against South Africa. Pakistan had a good chance to win the series against a strong Proteas side but missed the chance after losing the second Test. In the first Test at Lahore, Pakistan defeated South Africa by 93 runs on a rank turner. However, in the second Test at Rawalpindi, the hosts were caught in their own spin web. The duo of Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj ran through the Pakistani batting line-up and gave their side a win by eight wickets.
Historically, there have been a few famous Test matches played between the two nations. The first Test match between the two teams took place in August 2001. It was only a year ago when Bangladesh played their inaugural Test and the side was no match against a strong Pakistan, who had been granted status decades ago. As expected, in that Multan Test, Bangladesh lost by a big margin of an innings and 264 runs as the inexperienced side failed to handle the leg-spin bowling of Pakistan’s Danish Kaneria, who took a six-wicket haul in both innings.
However, two years later, both sides met again in Multan, and this time Bangladesh gave the strong Pakistan side a scare. Setting a target of 261 runs for Pakistan in the fourth innings, Bangladesh reduced them to 205/8 and were on the verge of registering their first-ever win in Test cricket. However, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq had other plans as he stitched crucial partnerships with the tailenders and went onto score an unbeaten ton before leading his side to a win by just a solitary wicket.
The first time Bangladesh managed to draw a Test match against Pakistan was in Khulna in April 2015. But their first victory came in the famous two-match series in Rawalpindi in August 2024, where Bangladesh went onto win the second Test as well and clinch a 2-0 series victory. Bangladesh won the first Test by 10 wickets while the second one was won by six wickets. Spinner Mehidy Hasan Miraz was named the Player of the Series for picking up loads of wickets.
In the ongoing cycle of the World Test Championship, Pakistan are in fifth position, with one win from two games, while Bangladesh are just above West Indies at the second last position with no wins from two matches. The current series is part of the World Test Championship and both sides will aim to bag as many points as possible.
Ahead of the series, there were some doubts over Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto’s availability. The star cricketer sustained a hamstring injury against New Zealand in the third ODI last month. However, authorities are confident that Shanto will be fully fit ahead of the First Test match. The stage is set for an interesting first Test match in Mirpur, Dhaka.
Head-To-HeadÂ
Bangladesh and Pakistan have played against each other in 15 Test matches. Out of which, Pakistan have won 12 games while Bangladesh have won 2 games. One match ended in a draw. The two wins came against Pakistan came very recently two years ago. Let’s see who comes out on top in this series.
Pitch & Weather ReportÂ
The pitch in Mirpur, Dhaka is set to feature an unusually grassy green surface for the match which will aid the seamers initially. But as the match progresses, the pitch is expected to grip and turn and be spinner-friendly.
The weather will be hot and humid with 65-85% humidity and the temperatures peaking between 30-35 degrees Celsius. There is a moderate risk of brief afternoon showers or a thunderstorm, particularly on Day 1. The partial cloud cover will be expected and high humidity will be challenging for player endurance. The rain chances are 25-40% chances. The captain winning the toss should opt to bat first.
Predicted Playing XIs of both sidesÂ
Here, we will try and predict the playing XIs of both sides.
Bangladesh XI: Tanzid Hasan Tamim/Shadman Islam, Mahmudul Hasan Joy, Najmul Hossain Shanto (c), Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Litton Das (wk), Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Taijul Islam, Taskin Ahmed, Shoriful Islam/Nahid Rana, Nayeem Hasan.
Pakistan XI: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Fazal/Azan Awais, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammed Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha, Sajid Khan, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas/Hasan Ali, Noman Ali.
Key Players to watch out for in this clashÂ
Mahmudul Hasan Joy: He is Bangladesh’s Test specialist batter. He has the right technique to bat in these conditions and can control proceedings from the top order. Bangladesh will be hoping, he gives the side a fast start that they desire.
Taskin Ahmed: Taskin Ahmed is the spearhead of this bowling line-up. With the pitch expected to aid the pacers early on with green tinge on the surface, Taskin can be a handful for the Pakistan batters. If he gets it right, Pakistan could feel the pinch early on. He with the new ball can be lethal.
Babar Azam: Pakistan’s best batter and one of the all-time greats Babar Azam has been a pillar in the batting line-up. He may have been off-colour in Test cricket but has been in red hot form in PSL cricket. He will look to carry that on in this Test series and do well for his side.
Noman Ali: Noman Ali will be a handful for Pakistan. He loves playing Test cricket and he will look to do well in this match as well. Noman is a proven performer in Test cricket and in these conditions he will be handful. We have to wait and see how he performs in this series, especially the match.
Key Stats and figures to look out for in this clashÂ
- Bangladesh have never defeated Pakistan in a home Test match. However, when the sides last met in Pakistan, Bangladesh swept the board 2-0, securing their most famous Test series victory.
- Noman Ali needs 3 more wickets to complete 100 Test dismissals. He would become the ninth Pakistani to reach that milestone.
- Of Bangladesh’s 16 Test wins at home, more than half i.e. 9 have come at this venue.
Predicted/Probable Outcome of the Match
It’s going to be a long hard struggle as this is a Test match and is won over sessions. This is tough to call. But Pakistan are a better Test side than Bangladesh. Yes, Bangladesh have a good record in Mirpur. But Pakistan will fancy their chances. If the Men in Green plays to their potential, we consider them as favourites. But Bangladesh at home is a dangerous side and will be competitive. Important WTC points up for grabs.
Let’s see how things unfold in Mirpur, Dhaka over the next 5 days. Rain could be a factor as it’s raining off and on there. Hope it stays away for most parts of the game.
Also Read:Â BAN vs PAK: Bangladesh Edge Out Pakistan In Thriller To Win Series 2-1