We want to give Saim a fair chance: Pakistan skipper Masood ahead 1st Test against Bangladesh

Rawalpindi [Pakistan], August 20 (ANI): Pakistan skipper Shan Masood on Tuesday heaped praise on Saim Ayub and said that they want to give him a "fair chance" in the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh.
The two-match Test series will kick off on August 21 at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. The two Tests against Bangladesh will mark the first assignment of Jason Gillespie as Pakistan's Test coach.
The second Test of the two-match series is set to be played from August 30 to September 3.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Masood said that Pakistan has a lot of quality in their opening batting lineup.
Talking about Saim, the skipper said that the 22-year-old is in "good touch" currently. Masood said that he wants to back his players.
"We have plenty of riches in our opening batting. Imam-ul-Haq isn't in this series. We don't limit ourselves to 17 players. 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," Masood was quoted by ESPNcricinfo as saying.
Saim made his Test debut in 2024 against Australia. In his maiden game with Pakistan, he has scored 33 runs in 1 match and 2 innings at a strike rate of 60.0. In the first Test match against Bangladesh, Saim will open for Pakistan along with Abdullah Shafique.
PCB on Monday announced their playing eleven for their first Test match against Bangladesh.
Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad and Mohammad Ali are the top four pacers for Pakistan who will play against Bangladesh in the first Test match.
Pakistan's playing XI for the 1st Test against Bangladesh: Abdullah Shafique, Saim Ayub, Shan Masood (C), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel (VC), Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Salman Ali Agha, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali. (ANI)