Pakistan captain Shan Masood explained their reasoning for not opting to play any frontline spinner in the Rawalpindi Test against Bangladesh, which they eventually lost by ten wickets despite declaring in the first innings.
Pakistan had announced their XI for the Test two days prior to the start, naming no frontline spinner. Abrar Ahmed, the only spinner in the squad, had already been released. They went in with four seam bowlers and Agha Salman as their spin option instead.
After declaring their first innings for 448-6, Pakistan found it extremely tough to create any inroads during the Bangladesh innings as they took a 117-run lead. Salman ended up bowling 41 overs for no wickets, the most by any bowler from either side in the first innings.
In the second innings, Bangladesh spinners shared seven wickets between them to bowl Pakistan out for 146 before chasing the 30-run target with ten wickets to spare.
Also read: Bangladesh create history as Pakistan lose Rawalpindi Test after first-innings declaration
Masood: We got it wrong
After the match, Pakistan skipper Shan Masood admitted that they got it wrong by not picking a frontline spinner in the XI, although explaining their rationale behind the decision.
"Firstly, looking at the pitch, we expected the pitch to do a bit more," Masood said in the post-match presentation. "Secondly, I thought with three fast bowlers, you were going to be pushing them to the to the limit and that would mean that the spinner would also have to operate at around 25-30 overs a day.
"So that was something we were trying to avoid. If you bring the spinners into play that was more day five again, we thought that with weather, it might not even last five days completely. And again, I think at the end of the day, we got it wrong and, and we just have to work our way around it now."
Also read: Did Pakistan err in not playing a frontline spinner against Bangladesh?
On whether Pakistan can play an extra spinner in the next Test, Masood said there was "always room" for one.
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"Look, there's always room for a spinner. But that's the thing, you have to look at your whole XI. We lost Jamal who offered us, something, both with the bat and ball. So that meant that we had to play four all-and-out seamers. That's where we were missing the all-rounder as well.
"So a spinner can always come in. When we played in Sydney and we thought that we we really need a front line spinner there, Sajid Khan played over there. So you never rule it out.
"Again, it was a host of different equations that led you to playing four seamers. And it didn't work. So we'll see the pitch. We'll assess the conditions just because one thing hasn't worked right now, doesn't mean it won't work again. So you have to respect the conditions. And see the best team that you can play."
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