Hyderabad: England regular Test captain Ben Stokes made a return to the team after the all-rounder was included in England’s playing XI for the second Test match against Pakistan.
England and Pakistan play the second Test match at Multan from October 15. England beat Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs in the first Test at the same ground with Harry Brook scoring a triple-century and former captain Joe Root scoring a double-century.
Stokes is back in action after nearly months after he injured his hamstring in July-August this year. He last played in England’s 3-0 win over West Indies but missed the entire Sri Lanka’s tour of England in which England won 2-1.
Ollie Pope stepped up to lead the team in Stokes’ absence.
Along with Stokes, seamer Mathhew Potts also made a return to the playing XI.
Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson made way for Stokes and Potts in the team with England opting to retain both spinners – Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach – in their playing XI.
The second Test is also primed to be played on the same pitch on which both Pakistan and England amassed huge runs in the first Test.
Stokes, who according to Pope, was racing against time to be fit in time for the second Test match bowled and batted without any discomfort in the nets. He also attended and participated in regular training sessions over the last few days. His assessment was done by the medical team and Stokes has cleared the medical test on all fronts.
The 33-year-old Stokes’ last competitive match was in the Hundred – England’s premier domestic T20 tournament.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have also made a slew of changes to their squad having dropped batting mainstay Babar Azam due to his poor form, premier bowlers Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah for the remaining two Tests against England.
The new selection committee – that includes former international umpire Aleem Dar and a host of former players – have also decided to release Sarfaraz Ahmed from the Pakistan squad.
England team for second Test against Pakistan: Ben Stokes (captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.
