England arrive in Pakistan for Test series after 17 years; Squads, Schedule, All you need to know about it

Skipper
Ben
Stokes
and
15
of
his
teammates
touched
down
in
Pakistan
on
Saturday
(November
26)
and
were
given
a
warm
welcome
by
local
authorities
ahead
of
the
three-match
series
that
commences
in
Rawalpindi
on
December
1.

While
England
played
a
seven-match
T20I
series
in
Pakistan
prior
to
the
T20
World
Cup,
this
three-match
Test
series
will
be
the
first
time
the
two
sides
have
played
a
red-ball
fixture
in
the
country
since
2005.

The
series
is
part
of
the
current
World
Test
Championship
period
and
Pakistan
are
still
in
contention
to
win
a
place
at
next
year’s
final
at
The
Oval.

Babar
Azam’s
side
sits
in
fifth
place
on
the
World
Test
Championship
standings
and
have
upcoming
series
at
home
against
England
and
New
Zealand
to
boost
their
chances
of
a
top-two
finish
and
earn
a
place
at
next
year’s
decider.

England
aim
for
an
overseas
Test
win
under
Bazball

England
are
out
of
contention
for
a
spot
in
the
final,
with
their
disastrous
Ashes
series
in
Australia
at
the
end
of
last
year
and
a
disappointing
series
of
the
West
Indies
in
March
leaving
them
with
too
much
to
do
to
remain
in
the
mix.

They
have
bounced
back
to
some
of
their
best
form
in
recent
times,
with
series
triumphs
at
home
over
New
Zealand
and
South
Africa
helping
them
commence
a
new
era
under
Kiwi
coach
Brendon
McCullum.

England
are
keeping
a
close
eye
on
the
fitness
of
Mark
Wood,
with
the
pace
spearhead
still
battling
the
hip
injury
that
saw
him
miss
the
final
of
the
T20
World
Cup
against
Pakistan
in
Melbourne.

For
Stokes,
the
tour
is
his
first
visit
to
Pakistan
and
something
the
31-year-old
is
eagerly
looking
forward
to.

“In
terms
of
the
tour
itself,
I’m
really
looking
forward
to
it,”
Stokes
said.

“We
know
what
the
sub-continent
feels
about
the
cricket,
it’s
a
huge
part
of
their
life,
and
we’re
looking
forward
to
going
out
there.”

Squads

England:
Ben
Stokes
(C),
James
Anderson,
Harry
Brook,
Zak
Crawley,
Ben
Duckett,
Ben
Foakes,
Will
Jacks,
Keaton
Jennings,
Jack
Leach,
Liam
Livingstone,
Jamie
Overton,
Ollie
Pope,
Ollie
Robinson,
Joe
Root,
Mark
Wood,
Rehan
Ahmed.

Pakistan:
Babar
Azam
(C),
Mohammad
Rizwan,
Sarfaraz
Ahmed,
Shan
Masood,
Saud
Shakeel,
Salman
Agha,
Naseem
Shah,
Nauman
Ali,
Abdullah
Shafique,
Imam-ul-Haq,
Faheem
Ashraf,
Haris
Rauf,
Mohammad
Wasim
Jr,
Abrar
Ahmed,
Zahid
Mahmood,
Mohammad
Nawaz,
Azhar
Ali,
Mohammad
Ali

Schedule:

1st
Test,
Rawalpindi,
December
1-5

2nd
Test,
Karachi,
December
9-13

3rd
Test,
Multan,
December
17-21