Ben Stokes returns as England announce playing XI for 2nd test against Pakistan in Multan

England are leading the three-match test series against Pakistan by 1-0.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced their playing XI for the second test match against the Pakistan cricket team. The second test of the three-match series will be played at the Multan Cricket Stadium in Multan from October 15.

The visitors have received a huge boost in their playing XI as their regular test captain Ben Stokes makes his much-awaited return to the test side. Stokes missed the last four test matches of England after he suffered a hamstring tear during the Men’s Hundred 2024 tournament.

Along with Stokes, Matthew Potts also returned to the team as speedster Gus Atkinson and all-rounder Chris Woakes were rested for the second test. Potts will be seen in action for the first time since the Sri Lanka test series at home earlier this year.

“England Captain Ben Stokes returns after missing the last four Test matches. He has fully recovered from a hamstring tear, which has kept him on the sidelines since early August. Durham seamer Matt Potts returns to the side for the first time since the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka at the end of August,” read the ECB statement.

On the other hand, Pakistan have also named their squad for the remaining two test matches. Surprisingly, the hosts have decided to rest their star cricketers Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, and Sarfaraz Ahmed for the remainder of the test series. 

This huge decision comes after Pakistan suffered a crushing by an innings and 47 runs in the first test, also in Multan.

England playing XI for the second test vs Pakistan in Multan:

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, Matt Potts, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.

Pakistan squad for the last two matches against England:

Shan Masood (c), Saud Shakeel (vc), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Haseebullah (wk), Kamran Ghulam, Mehran Mumtaz, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Huraira, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha and Zahid Mehmood.

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