Ben Stokes Remains Sidelined Due To Injury As England Announce Playing 11 For 1st PAK vs ENG Multan Test

PAK vs ENG Test: England's regular men's Test side skipper, Ben Stokes, ruled out of the first Pakistan vs England Test in Multan as he is yet to achieve full fitness from the hamstring injury.

PAK vs ENG Test: Ben Stokes will not feature in the first Pakistan vs England Test at Multan, Ollie Pope to continue as England's stand-in skipper.

Source : PTI

PAK vs ENG Test: Ben Stokes, England’s men’s Test captain, has been ruled out of the first Pakistan vs England Test, set to take place at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan from October 7 (Sunday), as England have announced their playing 11 for the match. Stokes continues to recover from a torn hamstring that he sustained during a match in The Hundred in August of this year. In a media interaction on Saturday, the regular England Test captain confirmed that he is not fully fit for the 1st PAK vs ENG Test in Multan.

Ollie Pope, who captained England to a 2-1 home test series win against Sri Lanka, will continue to lead the Three Lions as the stand-in skipper.

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Ahead of the Multan Test, Stokes expressed that although he tried his hardest to be match-ready for the game, he has decided against his participation as he doesn't yet deem himself fully fit.

"I tried my hardest to get myself fit for this game, but have taken the call to miss this one because I’ve not quite managed to get game-ready. There is a lot that has to go into my rehab programme. We got to a certain point, but looking at the picture of what we've got coming up and physically where I'm at, I'm not quite ready to play,” Stokes told BBC Sport.

Stokes Frustrated At Missing Out On Multan Test

While Stokes expressed his frustration at missing out, he suggested that his recovery is further ahead than he had expected it to be.

"It's always frustrating to miss out. I've got some good things to focus on, so even though I'm not playing I've got a goal in mind. I've pushed myself incredibly hard and worked really hard with the medical team to get to where I'm at now. I think I'm further ahead than what we expected. I'll be working just as hard over the next 10 days to try to get myself fit for the second Test," Stokes said.

Crawley, Leach Return, Carse To Make Test Debut

Despite Stokes’ absence, England will be boosted by the return of first-choice opener Zak Crawley, who missed the Sri Lanka series due to injury, along with left-arm spinner Jack Leach, making his comeback to the England Test side.

The right-arm pacer Brydon Carse, who has previously featured in 19 ODIs and four T20Is for England, will make his red-ball debut in the Multat Test. The bowling attack will also feature Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.

England's Playing 11 For 1st PAK vs ENG Multan Test

England 11 for first Test against Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (captain), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Bryson Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.