England has announced their playing XI, against Pakistan for the first test starting from October 7 in Multan.
The Durham seamer Brydon Carse, will be making his test debut, left-arm spinner Jack Leach makes a return to the test set-up for the first time since the India tour in January, while opener Zak Crawley rejoins the team after fully recovering from a broken finger sustained during the summer.
Fresh from their 2-1 victory at home against Sri Lanka, England will be favourites in the three-match contest against a Pakistan side smarting from a 2-0 whitewash by Bangladesh last month.
England batter Joe Root, however, would not take anything for granted.
“We know how good Pakistan is as a team and the ability and skill level they have. You got to have full respect for that,” Root told a press conference.
“In their own conditions, in particular, they’ve got a number of players that are match winners and that are capable of doing very special things in test cricket.”
Batter Ollie Pope, who led England during the home series against Sri Lanka, will lead the tourists in the match beginning on Monday.
In a major blow for England, the Test captain Ben Stokes ruled out of the first Test against Pakistan, due to a lingering hamstring injury.
Stokes has been sidelined since August and also missed the recent Sri Lanka series. Despite joining the squad and participating in training, fitness concerns have led to his omission from the first Test.
The 33-year-old all-rounder suffered the injury on August 11 while playing in The Hundred. His absence is a major blow to England, as Stokes’ leadership and experience have been crucial to the team’s recent successes under head coach Brendon McCullum.
England XI
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir
