England has unveiled a 17-member squad for their upcoming Test tour of Pakistan. The squad sees the return of captain Ben Stokes, who is back from a hamstring injury that sidelined him during the home series against Sri Lanka. His return is a significant boost for England as they prepare for the ICC World Test Championship matches starting in October.
Opener Zak Crawley, who missed the last two months due to a finger fracture, has also been included in the squad. Uncapped players Brydon Carse and Jordan Cox have received their first call-ups for the tour, while Josh Hull, who debuted in the final Test against Sri Lanka, will make his first international tour.
Spin options are bolstered with the inclusion of Jack Leach, who returns to the squad after his last appearance in India in January, and Rehan Ahmed, who made his Test debut in Karachi during England’s last tour of Pakistan in December 2022. Shoaib Bashir has also been selected to strengthen England’s spin attack.
The squad retains eight players from the victorious 2022 series against Pakistan, including Rehan Ahmed, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, and Ben Stokes, who led England to a 30 series win.
The first Test of the series is set to start on October 7, though the specific venues for the three-match series are yet to be confirmed by the PCB. The schedule for the series is as follows:
Pakistan vs England 2024 Test Series Schedule
1st Test: October 7-11 (Venue TBD)
2nd Test: October 15-19 (Venue TBD)
3rd Test: October 24-28 (Venue TBD)
England Test Squad for Pakistan Tour 2024
Ben Stokes (c), Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes
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