Pakistan aim to keep up momentum from their strong T20 World Cup showing with a largely unchanged squad for this week's tour of Bangladesh, skipper Babar Azam said Thursday.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Babar's side stormed through the Super-12 phase of the Dubai tournament with five straight victories before a shock five-wicket loss to eventual winners Australia in the semi-final.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Pakistan fielded the same line-up in all six of their World Cup matches and have retained almost the same squad for the Bangladesh series, which starts with Friday's Twenty20 showdown in Dhaka.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Momentum always matters in cricket and we would like to carry that momentum," Babar told reporters ahead of the game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Mohammad Hafeez is the only player not to make the Bangladesh-bound flight after opting out of the squad, with Iftikhar Ahmed brought on as his replacement.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Bangladesh are missing several senior players who have been ruled out due to injury or rested after a disastrous World Cup campaign, where they failed to win a single Super-12 match.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Captain Mahmudullah Riyad said his side were looking to start afresh and put the Dubai debacle behind them.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Whatever happened happened. If we think much about it that would affect us negatively. We want to think positive," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The second and third Twenty20 internationals will be held on November 20 and 22 in Dhaka.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Both are day-night games, with fans returning to the stands in Bangladesh for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic shut stadiums to crowds in March 2020.<\/p>\r\n\r\n