Pakistan and Bangladesh renew Test rivalry with fresh ambitions in 2026 series.
Afridi was left out after the first Test of the previous series, managing only two wickets in the heavy loss. He now insists Pakistan are ready for whatever Bangladesh bring to the table this time, possibly even a grassy pitch for the opening Test starting May 8 in Mirpur. 'Personally, the past is in the past, and I do not want to dwell on it,' Afridi stated on Wednesday. 'Our goal is to focus on the present and the future. We are preparing to win the World Test Championship, not just a single series; our collective goal is much larger. We must play our best cricket.'
Afridi highlighted the importance of utilizing home conditions. 'First of all, we have to use the conditions well. We have seam bowlers, such as Muhammad Abbas bhai and Khurram Shahzad. They are coming here from county cricket, so they will be effective if there's a green track.' He added, 'Our goal is to take 20 wickets and win the match.'
Simmons took over as Bangladesh's head coach a few months after their Rawalpindi victory. He aims for the team to carve new memories rather than dwell on history. '[The 2024 series] is history now. We want to make new history. It doesn't matter what happened then. Yes, you keep it in your mind because it gives you a boost, but it is a new game and a new place. We are in Bangladesh now, not Pakistan. We have to put those things behind us and focus on Friday.' He noted 90-95% expectations come from outside the dressing room.
Afridi admitted dissatisfaction with Pakistan's World Test Championship performance so far. 'If you look at [our performance], we are not satisfied as a team. We played well in the last Test series [against South Africa], but we should have won that series 2-0. They beat India after our series. We won one match against them, so that's a plus point. But the negative is that we are finishing at six, seven, or eight, which is not suitable for our team. Our main goal should be to finish at the top.'
Afridi stressed the need for better fitness to improve rankings. 'If your Test cricket is good, then your ODI and T20I cricket will also be good. For that, fitness definitely needs to be a bit better.' Pakistan currently sit fifth in the standings after playing just two Tests with one win and one defeat.
Simmons noted Bangladesh's Test specialists like Mushfiqur Rahim, Mominul Haque, and Taijul Islam have been playing red-ball cricket recently, easing their transition. 'It is a more mental shift, but at the same time, there are quite a few guys here who have not played white-ball cricket recently. They have been working with the red ball for the last couple of months, so I think it will be an easier shift.'
Simmons described the pitch as good and emphasized the need to adapt batting strategies. 'It is going to be a good pitch, and we have to put in place how we bat against them. If you want to be higher in the rankings, you have to play [well] against all these top-class bowlers. We know as a unit that we have to bat and bat long against them to try to get big scores. Everybody is in the mindset that they want to get big scores now, which is a good thing.'