Former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has been appointed as head coach for the two-match Test series in Bangladesh next month, the Pakistan Sports Board (PCB) said on Saturday.

The first of the two matches – part of the ICC World Test Championship — will be played at Sher-i-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka from May 8 to 12, while Sylhet International Cricket Stadium will host the second Test, which will be played from May 16 to 20.

Sarfaraz, who led Pakistan to the Champions Trophy title in 2017, has worked with the under-19 team as well as Pakistan Shaheens after his retirement.

Since Australian Jason Gillespie quit as Pakistan’s red-ball coach in December 2024, Aaqib Javed and Azhar Mahmood temporarily guided the team led by Shan Masood, who will continue as captain in Bangladesh.

Pakistan have named four uncapped players — Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais and Muhammad Ghazi Ghori — to their 16-member squad for the Bangladesh series starting in Dhaka on May 8.

Sarfaraz’s former teammate Umar Gul will join him in the setup as the bowling coach.

Among the squad, five players — Azan Awais, Imamul Haq, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Noman Ali and Sajid Khan are currently taking part in the ongoing NCA Red-Ball Camp in Lahore, the PCB noted.

The players will undergo a camp in Karachi and will assemble on April 27. The camp will conclude on May 1, with the players scheduled to fly to Bangladesh the next day, according to PCB.

Pakistan test squad: Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imamul Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Afridi.

DHAKA: Paceman Blair Tickner took four quick wickets as New Zealand held their nerve to beat Bangladesh by 26 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match One-day International series on Friday.

Chasing 248 on a slow surface at the Mirpur stadium in Dhaka, Bangladesh lost their last six wickets for just 37 runs and were bowled out for 221 off 48.3 overs.

Bangladesh were off to a shaky start after pacer Nathan Smith struck twice off consecutive deliveries in the third over, removing Tanzid Hasan Tamim (two) and Najmul Hossain Shanto for a duck.

Smith could have had another wicket when Saif Hassan edged one to first slip but Henry Nicholls spilled a simple chance.

Saif made the most of the reprieve, scoring 57 off 76 balls for his second ODI half-century, and adding 93 runs with Litton Das to revive the innings.

Litton contributed a patient 46 off 68, but both fell at crucial moments.

Saif was caught while trying to pull Will O’Rourke, and Litton was undone by Dean Foxcroft’s turning off spin.

Towhid Hridoy kept Bangladesh in the hunt with a composed 55 off 59 balls, registering his 12th ODI half-century.

He shared a steady stand with Afif Hossain, who was out for 27 while attempting a big hit off Jayden Lennox.

With the required rate climbing, Tickner removed Mehidy Hasan Miraz before sending back Rishad Hossain and Shoriful Islam off successive balls in the 46th over.

Tickner also got rid of Taskin Ahmed to ensure a fine win for the Kiwis with nine balls to spare.

Earlier, Bangladesh bowlers produced a disciplined performance to restrict New Zealand to 247-8 after the visitors opted to bat first.

Shoriful impressed on his return, removing Nick Kelly early and conceding just nine runs in his opening five overs.

Shoriful was drafted in the squad at the last minute to replace Mustafizur Rahman, who has a knee injury.

Nicholls anchored the New Zealand innings with a composed 68 and shared useful stands with Will Young (30) and Tom Latham (14) before falling to Rishad Hossain, who picked up two key wickets.

Foxcroft’s aggressive 59 off 58 balls and Nathan Smith’s unbeaten 21 provided late impetus to the New Zealand innings.

SCOREBOARD

NEW ZEALAND:

Henry Nicholls c Litton b Rishad 68

Nick Kelly b Shoriful 7

Will Young c Tanzid b Rishad 30

Tom Latham b Mehidy 14

Mohammad Abbas c Litton b Shoriful 14

Dean Foxcroft b Nahid 59

Josh Clarkson b Taskin 8

Nathan Smith not out 21

Blair Tickner b Taskin 7

Jayden Lennox not out 1

EXTRAS (B-2, LB-5, NB-1, W-10) 18

TOTAL (for eight wkts, 50 overs) 247

DID NOT BAT: Will O’Rourke

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-21 (Kelly), 2-94 (Young), 3-127 (Latham), 4-131 (Nicholls), 5-165 (Abbas), 6-192 (Clarkson), 7-226 (Foxcroft), 8-240 (Tickner)

BOWLING: Taskin 10-0-50-2 (4w, 1nb), Shoriful 10-2-27-2 (2w), Mehidy 10-1-54-1, Nahid 10-0-65-1 (3w), Rishad 10-0-44-2 (1w)

BANGLADESH:

Saif Hassan c Clarkson b O’Rourke 57

Tanzid Hasan b Smith 2

Najmul Hossain b Smith 0

Litton Das b Foxcroft 46

Towhid Hridoy c Nicholls b Smith 55

Afif Hossain c O’Rourke b Lennox 27

Mehidy Hasan c Latham b Tickner 6

Rishad Hossain c&b Tickner 4

Shoriful Islam b Tickner 0

Taskin Ahmed b Tickner 2

Nahid Rana not out 0

EXTRAS (LB-1, NB-1, W-20) 22

TOTAL (all out, 48.3 overs) 221

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-21 (Tanzid), 2-21 (Najmul), 3-114 (Saif), 4-132 (Litton), 5-184 (Afif), 6-194 (Mehidy), 7-202 (Rishad), 8-203 (Shoriful), 9-214 (Taskin)

BOWLING: O’Rourke 9-0-51-1 (4w), Smith 9.3-1-45-3 (2w, 1nb), Tickner 10-0-40-4 (4w), Clarkson 4-0-27-0 (2w), Lennox 10-0-32-1, Foxcroft 6-0-25-1

RESULT: New Zealand won by 26 runs.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Dean Foxcroft

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2026

ABIDJAN: Pakistan concluded their FIFA Series campaign with a 2-0 loss to hosts Ivory Coast on Thursday, finishing third in their group after a match that required a goalline clearance, a saved penalty and more than 20 minutes with ten players.

The defeat meant Pakistan ended the tournament with one win, two losses, and a third-place finish in the four-team group.

But given the context — Ivory Coast entered the match having scored 23 goals across their first two games, while Pakistan are ranked 72 places below the hosts — the scoreline reflected a defensive effort that, while ultimately breached twice from corners, avoided the double-digit routs inflicted on others.

Pakistan held Ivory Coast at bay for the first half hour, with the defence marshalled by Kayla Siddiqi and Isra Khan, who reduced the hosts to shots from distance.

Once the Ivorians penetrated the box, goalkeeper Zeeyana Jivraj stood tall while full-backs Anmol Hira and Karissa Jivraj cut off the crosses.

The deadlock was broken in the 39th minute. After several ricochets from a corner, Ami Diallo headed in to give the hosts the lead. Buoyed by the opener, Ivory Coast pushed again, only for Isra to produce an goalline clearance to keep Pakistan within one.

The hosts continued to press after the interval, and their second arrived in the 69th minute — another corner, another header, this time from Habibou Oudraogo.

Minutes later, Pakistan were reduced to ten players when Anmol handled the ball on the goalline and was shown a straight red card. Zeeyana, however, produced a superb save to deny Bernadette Amani from the penalty spot.

The goalkeeper was not finished. In the 83rd minute, she denied another goal with an outstretched left foot, then dived to her right to stop a free kick, capping an immense individual contribution.

Head coach Adeel Rizki acknowledged the quality of the opposition while expressing satisfaction with his team’s discipline.

“We were up against a tough opponent so it was key that we kept our shape and discipline,” Adeel said.

“Overall it was a very satisfying performance from the team to hold them to just two goals. These games are a learning curve for us and the more we play against such opponents, the more we will get better.”

Published in Dawn, April 18th, 2026