England captain Ben Stokes is set to make his long-awaited return to competitive cricket in the second Test against Pakistan in Multan, starting October 15. Stokes, who suffered a hamstring injury while playing in The Hundred, has been named in England’s playing XI for the second game at the Multan Cricket Stadium.
The 33-year-old all-rounder has been bowling and batting without any discomfort in the nets in the lead-up to the match. In his absence, Ollie Pope led England to a comprehensive victory in the series opener last week.
Pakistan, on the other hand, have made some significant changes to their team ahead of the second Test, dropping former captain Babar Azam and star pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. When asked about these changes, Stokes declined to comment, stating that it was an internal matter for Pakistan cricket.
Stokes missed the three-match home series against Sri Lanka and last week’s first Test, which England won by an innings. Durham seamer Matthew Potts also returns to the side for the first time since the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka at the end of August. Seamers Gus Atkinson and Chris Woakes have been rested.
With England dropping two pacers, Stokes confirmed that he will be “playing as a third seamer” alongside Potts and Brydon Carse, who impressed on his debut in Multan.
Pakistan became the first team in Test cricket’s 147-year history to lose by an innings after posting a 550-plus total in their first innings. Under pressure to level the series, Pakistan have named three frontline spinners in their team.
They have made four changes, including bringing in batter Kamran Ghulam for his debut.
