Why was Mohammad Rizwan denied maiden Test double ton? Pakistan vice-captain Saud Shakeel opens up on controversial innings declare

Controversy erupted when Pakistan captain Shan Masood declared the innings when Mohammad Rizwan was nearing his maiden double-century. The Men in Green got off to a horror start after being invited to bat first in the first Test against Bangladesh. Hasan Mahmud and Shoriful Islam shone with the new ball, resulting in Pakistan losing three wickets for just 16 runs in 8.2 overs.

However, keeper-batter Rizwan and Saud Shakeel rebuilt the innings by stitching a record partnership for the fifth wicket. When it looked as if the hosts would collapse for a low score, the duo pulled their team out of trouble. Their partnership of 240 runs was broken when vice-captain Shakeel was dismissed for 141 runs.

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Rizwan continued to tick the scoreboard and remained unbeaten on 171 when Masood decided to declare the innings at 448/6. The 32-year-old was just 29 runs short of his milestone, which sparked a debate among fans on social media.

'Rizwan bhai was cleary told an hour before'

At the end of the innings, Shakeel was asked about the timing of the declaration and why Rizwan was denied a well-deserved double-century. However, the middle-order batter said that Rizwan was informed about the declaration an hour before.

"See, as far as Rizwan bhai's double century is concerned, I don't think there was a haste in taking the decision (to declare the innings). Because Rizwan bhai was clearly told an hour before that we would be declaring at this point in time. So he had an idea when we would declare. He was told we will try to near 450 before declaring," Shakeel said after the end of the second day's play.

Earlier, opener Saim Ayub also contributed well with 56 off 98 balls. He and Shakeel put on nearly a 100-run partnership, laying a foundation before Rizwan joined in the fun.

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