Ben Stokes ‘on track’ to play Pakistan Tests

LONDON: England Test captain Ben Stokes on Thursday, has been given a green signal to participate in the three-match Test series against Pakistan, scheduled to commence on October 7.

The all-rounder has been out of action since suffering a hamstring injury while playing for the Northern Superchargers in The Hundred 2024.

Stokes underwent scans on Wednesday, which indicated that he is ‘on track’ to attain match fitness for the upcoming series against Pakistan.

“The results of the scans were positive and confirmed that his recovery, since sustaining the injury six-and-a-half weeks ago, remains on track to participate in the upcoming Test series against Pakistan,” an England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) statement said.

England are set to depart for Pakistan on October 1 with the opening Test scheduled to begin on October 7.

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Despite being on track to participate in the upcoming series, there are some doubts about whether Ben Stokes would be able to bowl.

“I think that’s you getting ahead of yourself. Obviously I’ve been six-and-a-half weeks now of just walking and doing stuff in the gym,” said Stokes in response to a question regarding the chances of him bowling in the Pakistan Tests.

“There’s a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing and working up again in terms of bowling, because you use everything, so I need to get that all right to make sure I don’t do any damage to other parts of my body,” he added.

The three-match Test series between Pakistan and England, part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC), will run from October 7 to 28 with matches scheduled in Multan and Rawalpindi.

For the unversed, this will be England’s second tour of Pakistan in two years. They won the last Test series 3-0 in December 2022.

Pakistan squad for first Test against England: Shan Masood (captain), Saud Shakeel (vice-captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Naseem Shah, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wicket-keeper), and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

England squad for Pakistan Test series: 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.

READ: Pakistan make one addition to squad for first Test against England