Bangladesh’s Test captain Mominul Haque insisted that he would wait till the last minute to include pacer Taskin Ahmed for the second Test against Pakistan from November 4.

Taskin, who did not play in the initial Test after being ruled out due to injury in the last match of the three-match T20 series, has returned to the side.

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He is unlikely to make a place in the playing XI against Pakistan as he is yet to make a full recovery despite the stitches being removed recently.

“I think we have to see him by tomorrow to decide if he (Taskin) can play. But I think he (Taskin) is ready for New Zealand,” Mominul told reporters on Friday.

Mominul also says that Shakib, who is Returning from injury, is Looking good.

“Shakib bhai makes it easy to build team combinations. He is looking good. Has recovered from injury. He makes life easier for any captain. He is important for team composition. His comeback is a positive thing, ” He said.

Mominul also expects the pitch against Australia to be different to that for Pakistan, which was a spinning track.

“It will be a normal Mirpur wicket. We all know it is difficult to predict. But I don’t see how we played against Australia,” Mominul said.

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Everyone plays spin very well in the subcontinent, so it is better not to be given spin wickets. I think everyone else will do the same. And prefer a flat wicket,” he said.

“I don’t even agree that professional cricketers should be given wickets or anything as an excuse. A pro cricketer has to play well in the paddy field. We are definitely professionals,” he said.

Mominul has included Naeem Sheikh in the 20-man squad despite the lack of first-class cricket

Mominul said that he has included Naeem Sheikh in the 20-man squad despite the lack of first-class cricket. Because they don’t have enough options in their hands.

The inclusion of Naeem, who is a regular face in Bangladesh’s limited-overs cricket, raised quite a few eyebrows considering he last played a red-ball game in February 2020.

Naeem, who has played only six first-class matches, earned a pair in his last long format match and has not been considered anywhere in red-ball cricket since making his T20I debut.

“We don’t have enough openers. Naeem is someone who is playing international cricket regularly. He played T20s recently. That’s why he missed first-class cricket. We wanted an opener like that. Who is playing international cricket. An opener in domestic cricket will find it difficult to adjust to this situation. We have to consider the New Zealand tour as well,” Mominul said.

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“It certainly matters (whether we are playing red or white ball cricket.) But we don’t have a backup opener. We can prepare an opener who has already played in an international format, recently. right now,” he said

“The opening combination could be lefty-right” he indicated as uncapped Mahmudul Hasan could make the cut.