Pace bowler Mark Wood will return to the England team for the second Test against Pakistan, starting on Friday.
PAK vs ENG 2nd Test: Mark Wood replaces the injured Liam Livingstone in the only change from the side that won the first Test. Also, that depicts that there is no space for Ben Foakes in the 11s.
Regular wicketkeeper Foakes missed the first Test through illness and his stand-in Ollie Pope keeps the gloves.
England will clinch their first series win against Pakistan outside of the domestic soil after 22 years with victory playing at Multan. Also, Mark Wood has not played a Test since March because of an elbow injury that kept him out from the team for a long duration.
England captain Ben Stokes on Team Changes; PAK vs ENG 2nd Test
“Having someone in your squad who can bowl at 150 km/h is a massive bonus for any team around the world, especially as Pakistan is a very hard place to come and win,”
“Having someone of his caliber and what he brings will be massive for us. It will add to our ability to take 20 wickets.”
It is a blow for Foakes, who was originally named in the playing 11 for the first Test. The player ruled out on the morning of the game.
Stokes has repeatedly called the Surrey man “the best wicketkeeper in the world” and says his omission from this Test has no reflection on his future prospects. Despite of the two of the injured players Pope and Jonny Bairstow providing options behind the stumps.
“Adding Mark Wood into the side gives us a better chance of taking 20 wickets.
“We did say to Ben to not take this as anything for the future. We didn’t have this on our radar until the illness he unfortunately had before the first Test. This is definitely no sign for his future.”
Squads for the game: PAK vs ENG 2nd Test
Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc & wk), Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood.
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett. Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson. Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed.
