Former cricketer Basit Ali shares "inside story" ahead of Pakistan's Test series against England

The hype around Pakistan's upcoming series against England is constantly rising after Bangladesh left them speechless with a historic 2-0 Test series sweep.

Ahead of the three Tests, predictions are being made about the nature of the pitch that curators will prepare in Multan and Rawalpindi.

Ahead of the series opener, Basit revealed that Test head coach Gillespie gave a "shut-up call" to Pakistan batters who wanted grass off the Multan pitch.

"I will give you an inside story. Jason Gillespie has handed a shut-up call to Pakistan batters. He wants the pitch to remain the same that has been prepared by the groundsman. Pakistan batters wanted to cut off the grace to make it a flat pitch. The pitch curator and Gillespie want to play on the same pitch. I would be really happy if the match took place on a grassy surface and our bowlers took wickets," Basit said on his YouTube channel.

Pakistan have been going through a turbulent period in red-ball cricket since Shan Masood succeeded Babar Azam as the Test skipper last year.

Under his captaincy, Pakistan suffered a 3-0 series whitewash at the end of last year in Australia. In his debut Test at home since becoming Pakistan captain, the hosts, for the first time, suffered a defeat against Bangladesh in the format.

Pakistan are winless on its home soil in the Test format for 1338 days. The last time they tasted success in red-ball cricket during a home game was against South Africa in February 2021.

The Shan Masood-led side will be eager to end their staggering winless streak during the England Test, which will begin on Monday.

Pakistan squad for 1st Test: Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan, Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Shaheen Shah Afridi. (ANI)