He will now have to wait for his return as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury that he sustained over two months ago.
In a recent development coming in, an England star who was expected to return to the national side for the upcoming three-match Test series against Pakistan, has now been ruled out for the series opener, slated to start on October 7.
Dynamic all-rounder Ben Stokes will now have to wait for his return as he continues to recover from a hamstring injury that he sustained over two months ago during a match in The Hundred.
In Stokes’ absence, who is the regular red-ball captain for the England, Ollie Pope will continue to lead the Three Lions in what will be his first away Test as a captain and overall fourth on the trot. Last month, he led England to a 2-1 series win over Asian rivals Sri Lanka at home.
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Pacer Brydon Carse, who has 127 first-class wickets at an average of 33.78 from 48 matches, is set to make his Test debut. He will be joined by Chris Woakes, who is playing his first overseas Test in over two-and-a-half years, and Gus Atkinson, who made his Test debut earlier this summer, in the fast bowling lineup. Carse enters the series after featuring in all five ODIs against Australia, where he claimed eight wickets.
After the culmination of the first Test, the second Pakistan vs England match will also be played in Multan, from 15 October, and England would hope that Ben Stokes could mark his return to international cricket in that game.
The third Test will be played in Rawalpindi from 24 October.
England squad for the first Pakistan Test: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (C), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse (Debut), Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir
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