PAK vs ENG: England squad for Pakistan Tests announced, Ben Stokes returns

On Tuesday, September 10, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced a strong 17-man Test squad of England for the upcoming tour of Pakistan in October.

England National Cricket Team are all set to tour Pakistan for a three-match Test series after having recently defeated West Indies National Cricket Team and Sri Lanka National Cricket Team in the home Test series.

The first Test will be played from October 7 in Multan while the second Test is set to be hosted by Karachi from October 15. Also, the third and final Test will be played in Rawalpindi from October 24.

Notably, there were reports of one of the Tests being shifted to Abu Dhabi due to the ongoing construction work at the venues in Pakistan. PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi had denied those reports and stated that all the matches of the Test series between Pakistan and England will be played in the country.

However, ECB, in their official media release, stated that the Pakistan Cricket Board is yet to confirm the venues.

"The venues for the three-match series are yet to be confirmed, with an announcement expected from the Pakistan Cricket Board later this week."

Meanwhile, English captain Ben Stokes will return for Pakistan tour alongside Zak Crawley as they are recovering well from their respective injuries. Notably, Stokes had suffered a hamstring tear while Crawley had fractured his right little finger.

As many as 8 players, who were part of a stunning 3-0 win in the 2022 Test series in Pakistan will tour the country again. Those players are Rehan Ahmed, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes.

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Jack Leach Returns To England Test Squad For Pakistan Tour

The veteran spinner Jack Leach has made his comeback to the Test team after being sidelined for a significant period of time. This is his first selection in the Test squad since January 2024. Also, Rehan Ahmed, who made his Test debut in Karachi during the last Pakistan tour, has made a comeback to the side.

The English team will travel to Pakistan for the Test series with two uncapped players in the team as Brydon Carse and Jordan Cox have been named in the squad. Another major development coming out of the squad announcement was the absence of Dan Lawrence.

Notably, he has been dropped from the team after his underwhelming show at home while opening the innings in the Sri Lanka series. He returned with scores of 30, 34, 9, 7, 5, and 35 in the six innings and disappointed the head coach Brendon McCullum.

Talking about the Pakistan National Cricket Team, they recently got whitewashed at home against the Bangladesh National Cricket Team and will be under pressure heading into the upcoming Tests.

England squad for Pakistan Test series: 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 (wk), Olly Stone, Chris Woakes.