England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have named their squad for the upcoming Pakistan tour, with Ben Stokes recovering to lead the tourists. Jordan Cox and Brydon Carse are the two uncapped players, while Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir are the three spinners included in the squad.
Stokes suffered a hamstring injury during The Hundred 2024 fixture between the Northern Superchargers and the Manchester Originals. Hence, Ollie Pope captained the Englishmen in the three-Test series. Jack Leach, who hadn't played for England all summer, but expressed his wish to return to the fold ahead of the Pakistan tour. Rehan Ahmed, who made his first Test appearance in Pakistan, will join Bashir.
Zak Crawley has also returned to the squad, having missed the series against Sri Lanka due to a hand injury. Brydon Carse, Josh Hull, Gus Atkinson, Matthew Potts, Olly Stone, and Chris Woakes are the six specialist seamers included for the tour.
England squad for Pakistan tour:
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.
The series' venue was in doubt earlier, but PCB chief Mohsin Naqvi has confirmed that it will take place in Multan and Rawalpindi. England had inflicted a 3-0 whitewash on Pakistan during the 2022 leg and could do the same again, given their recent form.
