Pakistan vs England: Stokes returns as visitors name playing XI for second Test; Babar-less hosts make four changes

Captain Ben Stokes was named in the England team for the second Test against Pakistan starting in Multan on Tuesday after recovering from a hamstring injury. Stokes suffered the injury two months ago and was forced to sit out the three-match home series against Sri Lanka and the first Pakistan Test last week.

Durham seamer Matt 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.

England won the first Pakistan Test, also in Multan, by an innings and 47 runs on Friday, with Ollie Pope leading the side in Stokes’s absence.

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England rode on a brilliant 317 from Harry Brook and 262 from Joe Root for a stunning victory. Pakistan became the first team in Test cricket’s 147-year history to lose by an innings after posting a 550-plus total in the first innings.

England XI for second Test: Ben Stokes (captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, Matt Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

Pakistan announce four changes for second Test 

Pakistan, who rested seniors including Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi, have named four changes to their playing XI for the second Test against England.

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All-rounder Kamran Ghulam will make his Test debut, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said on Monday, as the hosts look to bounce back from a historic loss in the first Test. Ghulam, 29, has previously represented Pakistan in an ODI in January 2023.

Spinners Noman Ali, Zahid Mehmood and Sajid Khan have also been named in the team with Naseem Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed rested along with Azam and Shaheen.

Ali, 38, played his last Test in July 2023 while 36-year-old Mehmood has not represented Pakistan since December 2022. Khan’s previous test appearance was in January.

The second of the three-Test series will be played from Tuesday in Multan, the same venue as the first, with the third match set for Rawalpindi from 24 October.

Pakistan XI for second Test vs England: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (captain), Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mehmood

With inputs from agencies