"Goal is to qualify for the final"— Shaheen Afridi reveals ultimate target ahead of BAN vs PAK Test series

After the conclusion of the Pakistan Super League 2026 (PSL 2026), the Pakistan cricket team’s focus has shifted to their next assignment, which will be against Bangladesh, as part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. Pakistan will face Bangladesh for a 2-match away Test series, starting on May 8 at the Sher-e-Bangla stadium in Dhaka.

Ahead of the first of the two-match series, Pakistan’s premier pacer Shaheen Afridi reveals their biggest target, which is to qualify for the final of the WTC. To take a step further towards the target, they will have to outplay Bangladesh, the home team for the series. Afridi claims that they are all ready for the challenge.

Bangladesh cleanswept Pakistan in 2024

In 2024, when Bangladesh travelled to Pakistan, they handed a clean sweep to the host nation, defeating them by a 0-2 margin. In the first of the 2-match Test series, Bangladesh won by 10 wickets, and in the second, the Tiger Brigade claimed it by 6 wickets.

Ahead of this year, the 0-2 result has emerged as one of the major topics. Shaheen Afridi does not want to think too much about the past results; his focus is on the present and future.

“The past is the past. Personally, I do not want to dwell on it. Our goal is to focus on the present and the future. We are preparing to win the (World Test) Championship, not just a single series. As a team, we have big goals, and we are ready,” Shaheen Afridi said.

Shaheen Afridi is not thinking about the past

Pakistan’s last Test match was in October, 2025 against South Africa. The home Test series for Pakistan ended in a draw, with a 1-1 scoreline. Afridi mentions that the series was months ago, and they are taking preparations in a rejuvenated way to take on Bangladesh.   

“Our last series against South Africa in Pakistan was a long time ago. As a team, we are ready. We had preparation time in Pakistan and now here for the last two to three days. We are looking forward to the challenge," Afridi added.

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Pakistan will have to take part in the longest format of the game after the final of the PSL 2026 season. Switching from the Twenty20 format to Test is a very difficult task for any team across the globe. That’s why Afridi emphasized preparations. He is also hoping for suitable conditions in Bangladesh so that they can play quality cricket there.

Afridi reckoned the importance of preparations

"This period is very important for us as a Test team. We are playing a long season of Test cricket. We are focusing on how to prepare for the first Test. We hope the conditions suit us so we can play our best cricket here.

"We were already preparing during the PSL. After matches, we bowled extra overs on the side wickets. We worked on our bowling workloads to switch quickly to Tests. In the four or five days here, we tried to bowl around 25 overs to get used to the format."