Pakistan eye spin-friendly Rawalpindi pitch to replicate success: Shakeel

As the third and final Test between Pakistan and England approaches, Pakistan’s intentions for the Rawalpindi pitch are clear. By taking extreme measures, such as using giant heaters and industrial fans to accelerate the drying process, the team hopes to defy Rawalpindi’s natural favouring of fast bowlers and turn it into a spinner-friendly surface—one that could prove decisive in the series.

Vice-captain Saud Shakeel noted that, unlike Multan, Rawalpindi is not naturally inclined to take turn. Shakeel explained the climatic differences between the cities, with Multan being warmer and more humid, factors that contribute to quicker wear and tear on the surface. The stakes are high for Pakistan, who are coming off a much-needed win in Multan on a spinning wicket. After victory in Multan, slipper Shan Masood, openly expressed his desire for a turning track, the team is focused on replicating the conditions that helped them level the series.

“If you look at the difference between Multan and Pindi, there’s a difference in climate,” Shakeel said in the press conference. “Multan is warmer than Pindi, Multan is warmer and more humid compared to Pindi. Pindi favours fast bowlers slightly and has more bounce, compared to Multan. The groundsman prepares according to that, and I think that’s what causes the changes in the pitch.

“But the way the pitch looks and the success we got in the second Test, we’ll try for a similar kind of pitch that favours us and helps us win this game,” he said.

The win in Multan was Pakistan’s first in 11 home Tests and came after England won the first, also in Multan, by an innings and 47 runs.

Pakistan’s effort to manipulate the pitch, however, has not gone unnoticed by England. English batter Harry Brook speculated that the Rawalpindi surface had been ‘raked’ to encourage early deterioration, a tactic designed to bring spinners into play from the start.

In response, England announced their XI early, opting for just one specialist seamer, Gus Atkinson, and relying heavily on their spin trio, including leg spinner Rehan Ahmed. This strategic move signals that England is prepared to face another spin-heavy battle and could be a direct response to Pakistan’s efforts to reshape the pitch to their advantage.

Pakistan’s struggle to figure out the best use of home conditions has been ongoing since their return from playing in the UAE. Initially, the team experimented with seam-friendly pitches to capitalize on the talents of fast bowlers like Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah, leading to early successes against Sri Lanka and South Africa.

But after a disastrous attempt to flatten the surface for a Test against Australia in 2022, Pakistan found themselves in an 11-match winless streak at home—a streak that was only broken with their victory on the crumbling Multan pitch last week.

Shakeel acknowledged Pakistan’s tactical pivot back to spin-friendly surfaces, stating that the team had learned its lessons. “We should look at pitches for series to series and match to match. And we’ve come to realise this quite late,” Shakeel said.

“If you want to prepare for SENA [series in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia], you can do it during practice and first-class cricket. If there’s first-class cricket before South Africa, we could prepare those kinds of pitches there. But we should prepare pitches and conditions series-by-series, and according to the opposition.

Indo-Asian News Service