Rawalpindi road prompts Naseem to vent pitch frustrations

The pitch in Rawalpindi has been favorable for batters, with both teams accumulating large totals. Pakistan scored 448 runs in their first innings, while Bangladesh responded with 565. Nassim Shah, reflecting on the challenges faced by Pakistani bowlers, attributed the lack of success to the hot weather and the inability to leverage home advantage.

At the end of the fourth day, Bangladesh is in a strong position, leading Pakistan by 94 runs. Nassim Shah pointed out that the extreme heat has prevented the pitch from offering much assistance to bowlers, saying at the press conference:

"From my perspective, the pitch here isn't helping the bowlers as it has in previous series. In this heat, the pitch provides little assistance, except for a bit with the new ball. To turn the match in our favor, we need to make use of the home advantage, which we are currently failing to do."

Despite the lack of support from the pitch due to the heat, Nassim Shah emphasized that the Pakistani bowlers have put in a strong effort. He explained, "The bowlers have tried their best. I haven't played for a while, so it took me some time to find my rhythm. The pitch is very hot this season, and we haven't received the kind of support we expected. We have given our best effort from our side."

Pakistan had announced their playing XI two days before the match, including four pacers. However, Nassim Shah admitted that relying solely on pace bowlers to attack Bangladesh may not have been the right strategy. He said, "We thought the pitch would support the pacers, but it is not behaving as we expected. When you play with four pacers, you naturally expect to attack with pace. I’m not sure if the pitch has deteriorated. It still has grass, but it's somewhat dry underneath. We're not getting much help from it."

Nassim Shah also disputed the notion of a home advantage on the Rawalpindi pitch. He suggested that more thought should be given to pitch preparation to better utilize home advantage. "I don’t control this, but I believe if we want to take advantage of home conditions, we need to think about the type of pitch we create. If we make a green pitch and it doesn't help the pacers, it could be made to assist the spinners. Whatever the case, we need to provide something for the players to enjoy. Test cricket has evolved, and people come to enjoy it even in the heat. We need to give them something to enjoy. Though I don't control it, we need to consider how we can gain the home advantage."