Kolkata : England Cricket Board (ECB) announced 17 members squad for 3 match Test Series in Pakistan starting from October 7-28. English Skipper Ben Stokes & Zak Crawley who’re out due to injuries are set to make comebacks. Jack Leach will also return to the side after Indian Test series back in January. Meanwhile, youngsters like Batter Jordan Cox & pacer Brydon Carse earned maiden Test call up.
The return of skipper Ben Stokes, who was out of Sri Lanka tour due to hamstring injury will boost the English confidence in playing their natural aggressive Test Cricket.
Zak Crawley , after recovering from fractured finger made his way into the English side, as opener along with in form Ben Duckett. This rules out Daniel Lawrence from the English squad who’s suffering from a rough patch.
Uncapped duo of Brydon Carse and Jordan Cox also make their way into the squad.
Pacers like Chris Woakes, Carse, Olly Stone, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Josh Hull would be vital in flat tracks of Pakistan and in absence of premier fast bowler Mark Wood.
Jack Leach ,Rehan Ahmed and Shoaib Bashir are the 3 spinners that England are taking in the Pakistani tracks. All of them have good records in Asian wickets.
Apart from them, veteran Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Pope , Harry Brook , Woakes shape the middle order of the English team.
The venues of the Pakistani Tests are not yet confirmed. However, the English squad looks strong on paper and would like to clinch Test series again.
This series would be vital for both the teams in changing World Test Championship 2023-25 scenario.
England Test squad for Pakistan: Ben Stokes (c), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.
