Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi train with Pakistan for Bangladesh T20 series - in pictures

Pakistan to play three T20s and two Tests during tour that begins on Friday

Pakistan's Hasan Ali, second right, stretches with teammates during a training session ahead of their first T20 against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on Monday, November 15, 2021. AFP

Pakistan players train at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka for the T20 series against Bangladesh which begins on Friday. AFP

Pakistan's Shaheen Afridi catches a ball during a training session ahead of their first T20 against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. AFP

Shaheen Afridi, second right, during a training session at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka. AFP

Hasan Ali catches a ball during a training session in Dhaka on Monday. AFP

Pakistan's Shaheen Shah Afridi (C) stretches with teammates during a training session ahead of their first Twenty20 international cricket match against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on November 15, 2021. (Photo by Munir Uz zaman / AFP)

Asif Ali takes a catch during training on Monday. AFP

Pakistan's Hasan Ali (2R) stretches with teammates during a training session ahead of their first Twenty20 international cricket match against Bangladesh at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium in Dhaka on November 15, 2021. (Photo by Munir Uz zaman / AFP)

Haris Rauf, centre, trains in Dhaka on Monday. AFP

As Australia celebrated a maiden T20 World Cup title in the UAE, Pakistan players began preparations for their next assignment - a T20 series in Bangladesh.

The cramped cricket calendar has resulted in a peculiar situation where there are two major T20 tournaments scheduled to start just a few days after the T20 final in Dubai - Bangladesh v Pakistan and India v New Zealand.

Given that the next T20 World Cup in Australia is less than one year away - thanks to the change in schedule enforced by the pandemic - there is hardly any time for players to rest.

That has meant Pakistan players had to hop on to a plane to Dhaka for a tour that comprises three T20s and two Tests, right after their heartbreak in the semi-final against Australia.

Fast bowlers Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi trained alongside the squad on Monday, looking to put the disappointment of the semi-final defeat behind them. Afridi had been Pakistan's bowler of the tournament until Matthew Wade hit three consecutive sixes off him to seal a final spot for Australia.

Before that, Hasan had dropped a crucial catch from Wade off the bowling of Afridi, to cap a forgettable evening for the Pakistan quicks.

Both received plenty of support from captain Babar Azam and ex-Pakistan players, with the former reiterating that Hasan remains his main bowler.

"He is one of my main bowlers and he has won many matches for Pakistan. Players drop catches but he is a fighter and I will back him," Babar had said.

"Everybody doesn't perform every day. There is a day when one performs. It was just not his day. He is down and we will lift his mood."