Set to play nine Test matches in the next five months, Pakistan’s hectic schedule in red-ball cricket got off to a damp start with a wet outfield due to overnight rain delaying the start of the opening Test against Bangladesh here on Wednesday. Pakistan are hoping to build up their push for a spot in the final of the World Test Championship based on the upcoming red-ball matches with the two-Test series against Bangladesh becoming the stepping stone for tougher battles ahead in the season.

But the start of the first Test against Bangladesh at the Pindi Stadium here was delayed because of a wet outfield. With mop-up operations underway, the match officials have scheduled an inspection to gauze the conditions and decide when play could be started.

Pakistan Test skipper Shan Masood is hoping to build on this series for the battles ahead in the season and wants to zero in on a potent squad that can go all the way to the final. He is planning to give young batter

“We have 20-25 players who are part of our squad. We initially felt that it was our ideal chance to check Muhammad Hurraira – what he could offer the Pakistan team after doing so well in domestic cricket in the last three or four years. We rested Imam in this series. Saim, who is in good touch now, showed potential in the second innings against Australia. As a team, you have to send a message of continuity. So we will try to back the players. We want to give him a fair chance,” said Shan Masood.

Pakistan will also be looking at the form of former captain and key Test batter Babar Azam, whose average has slipped from 60 during the 2019 to 2022 period to 37.41 leading up to the Test series against Bangladesh.

In the last couple of seasons, Babar has managed to score a solitary hundred and three half-centuries in nine Test matches. In his last series in red-ball cricket, Babar averaged 21, his lowest in a series since 2017-18.

Besides losing his form, Babar Azam’s stature and authority in the team too has depleted. he has lost his captaincy in Tests and ODIs and is also likely to lose the T20I stewardship in the wake of the disappointing T20 World Cup campaign.

The Pakistan cricket establishment will be hoping that Babar gets back his form in the hectic season ahead.