And it’s official. England Cricket Team have been dealt with a massive blow. Captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the Pakistan vs England 1st Test at Multan. The all-rounder has been facing trouble with his injured hamstring and hasn’t been able to recover from the same. And thus he will be missing the game while Ollie Pope is likely to step in as the captain for the Three Lions.
Back in August while playing in The Hundred, Ben Stokes suffered a hamstring tear. While undergoing recovery, he missed out on England’s 2-1 Test win against Sri Lanka. And now he is all set to miss the PAK vs ENG 1st Test.
No Ben Stokes for PAK vs ENG 1st Test
The availability of Ben Stokes for the first Test match of the series was in major doubt for the past couple of weeks. With the match commencing on Monday, it was claimed that a decision would be taken over the weekend. And now, it has been finally decided that Stokes won’t be a part of the game as he continues to recover from his injury.
“He seems to be going well, recovering well from his injury, (but) we don’t know just yet. We feel ready, whatever team comes out it will be a nice balance either way. We’ve got a really deep squad with plenty of options with the ball and with the bat as well,” Zac Crawley told The Telegraph the other day.
Following the training, Ben Stokes told the reporters about him getting rest for the 1st Test at Multan. The southpaw toiled hard in practice for about 45 minutes. After proper strength and conditioning training, he took to the nets. He faced the local nets spinners along with Rehan Ahmed.
