The opening day of the first Test between Bangladesh national cricket team and Pakistan national cricket team produced plenty of action on the field, but it was an embarrassing on-air blunder by the host broadcasters that ended up dominating social media discussions.
In a moment that quickly went viral, the broadcasters mistakenly displayed a Pakistan playing XI graphic featuring several Indian cricketers instead of the actual squad.
The graphic bizarrely included names such as Rohit Sharma — who was even shown as captain — alongside Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar.
The statistics shown alongside the players were also largely incorrect, while the lineup itself appeared to be a random mix of Test and T20I specialists.
Soon after clips of the incident surfaced online, social media erupted with reactions. One fan joked that even the graphics department knew “who brings the real TRP,” while another sarcastically claimed Pakistan’s selectors had “resorted to Photoshop for team selection.” Several users also questioned whether the error was accidental or a deliberate attempt to attract engagement from Indian cricket fans.
Meanwhile, the Test match itself began on an exciting note. Bangladesh posted an imposing first-innings total of 413, thanks largely to a brilliant century from captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, who scored 101 off 130 deliveries. Mominul Haque contributed 91, while veteran Mushfiqur Rahim added 71 runs.
For Pakistan, Mohammad Abbas starred with the ball, claiming five wickets for 92 runs. Shaheen Afridi picked up three wickets, while Hasan Ali and Noman Ali chipped in with one wicket each.
Pakistan were also forced into a major change before the match after star batter Babar Azam was ruled out with a knee injury. Captain Shan Masood confirmed the late withdrawal at the toss and also announced the Test debut of opener Azan Awais.
