The England management has made one alteration to the previously declared playing XI for the first of three Test matches, which begins today, December 1, at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
According to reports, Ben Foakes, the wicket-keeper batter, has been ruled out of the team because he contracted a viral infection yesterday and will not be fully recovered in time for the first Test.
Meanwhile, the management has decided to name Will Jacks as the starting lineup for the curtain-raiser. In Ben Foakes’ absence, Ollie Pope will keep the wickets.
It was reported yesterday that the curtain-raiser could be postponed because half of the visiting squad was suffering from a viral infection, which also forced them to miss the previous training session.
Later in the statement, the Pakistan Cricket Body (PCB) indicated that they were in discussion with the English cricket board over the start of the series.
Meanwhile, Pakistan named their playing XI ahead of the encounter, with four fresh faces making their red-ball debut. Zahid Mahmood, Mohammad Ali, Saud Shakeel, and Haris Rauf are among Pakistan’s debutants.
| Pakistan | England |
| Abdullah Shafique | Zak Crawley |
| Imam-ul-Haq | Ben Duckett |
| Azhar Ali | Ollie Pope (wk) |
| Babar Azam (c) | Joe Root |
| Mohammad Rizwan (wk) | Harry Brook |
| Agha Salman | Will Jacks |
| Saud Shakeel | Ben Stokes (c) |
| Haris Rauf | Liam Livingstone |
| Naseem Shah | Jack Leach |
| Zahid Mahmood | Ollie Robinson |
| Mohammad Ali | James Anderson |