PAK vs ENG 3rd Test: England Playing XI 3rd Test: Ben Stokes has handed Test debut to 18-year-old Rehan Ahmed for Karachi Test. With England already sealing the series, they have rested veteran pacer James Anderson. Ben Foakes comes in while Will Jacks also takes rest for the Pakistan vs England 3rd Test. Karachi Test begins on Saturday. The tourists are 2-0 up in the series ahead of the final Test. Follow PAK ENG Karachi Test LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
England Playing XI 3rd Test:
- Zak Crawley
- Ben Duckett
- Ollie Pope
- Joe Root
- Harry Brook
- Ben Stokes (c)
- Ben Foakes
- Rehan Ahmed
- Ollie Robinson
- Mark Wood
- Jack Leach
PAK vs ENG 3rd Test: England hand debut to Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson RESTED for Karachi Test, Check England PlayingXI 3rd Test
Ahmed, the 18-year-old leg-spinning allrounder, would become the youngest debutant for the men’s team. After being added to the squad during the pre-tour camp in Abu Dhabi, he has not been directly involved in the first two Tests. But he has been a regular substitute fielder. In the Rawalpindi Test when Liam Livingstone suffered a tour-ending knee injury.
Ahmed came close to the XI for that first Test. With left-arm spinner Jack Leach down by a virus that infected half the squad, he was close. But Leach pulled through. Along with the offspin of Joe Root and Will Jacks, Leach has provided the slow-bowling options on two flat pitches.
Livingstone’s injury, however, means that Ahmed is the only wrist-spinner in the squad. His work in the nets continued at Karachi’s National Stadium on Thursday. He and the other alternates underwent a training session while those who played a part in the series-sealing 26-run win in Multan were given the day off to rest or play golf.
PAK vs ENG 3rd Test: England hand debut to Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson RESTED for Karachi Test, Check England PlayingXI 3rd Test
Speaking on Thursday morning at the team hotel, Test captain Ben Stokes revealed Ahmed was under serious consideration for the final match of 2022. Changes to the XI are expected in Karachi, with Ben Foakes set to return behind the stumps to allow Ollie Pope to focus on batting at No. 3, but Stokes insisted that handing Ahmed his first cap would be a decision based on ability rather than an act of charity.
“We’ve been thinking about it. We can’t go into too much detail until me and Baz [Brendon McCullum] have had a look at the wicket,” Ben Stokes said.
“When we spoke about having Rehan into the squad, it was more than just bringing him in and integrating him into the squad. We did speak about us having no issues with selecting him if we felt it was the right option. I don’t think this is a case of, if he was to play, of giving caps away. We picked him in the squad not just because of his talent, but because we thought it would be a good opportunity to play if we thought it was necessary.”
PAK vs ENG 3rd Test: England hand debut to Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson RESTED for Karachi Test, Check England PlayingXI 3rd Test
Entertaining both on and off the pitch! 🤣💃
🌴 #WIvENG 🏴 pic.twitter.com/MHdDcHP5f4
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) December 15, 2022
A maiden international cap would end a breakthrough year on a high for Ahmed. It began with 12 wickets during the Under-19 World Cup in February as England finished runners-up to India. A first-class debut in Division Two of the County Championship came in May, and he ended the summer with a maiden five-wicket haul and century against Derbyshire. In between whiles, he training alongside England’s white-ball squads during their series with India and South Africa, and played five matches for Southern Brave in the Hundred.
Though Ahmed was not originally in the 15-man squad selected for this first series back in Pakistan since 2005, but his addition was not as last-minute as it seemed. The prospect had been floated in the initial selection meeting with two primary takeaways: the importance of insulating Ahmed from outside pressure, particularly from the media, and that head coach McCullum wanted to see and work with Ahmed first before taking him on tour.
That opportunity came during the training camp, and McCullum was suitably impressed by both Ahmed’s ability and mentality. Though he did not enjoy the best time with the ball in the England versus England Lions warm-up match, conceding 73 in eight wicketless overs, he provided a snapshot of his pluck with the bat, striking 26 from 10 deliveries for the Lions.
He has continued to make an impression over the last few weeks. And it was instructive that, when asked of what he has made of the youngster, Stokes admitted he isn’t sure which of Ahmed’s two suits is his strongest.
“I’m struggling to work out what he is, whether he’s a batter or a legspinner, which is I guess good, because it shows how much talent he’s got. We got snippets of what he can do with the bat in that warm-up game briefly.
“But having a wrist-spinner is always exciting, especially for England, but it’s not getting too carried away with the potential that he has, because he is only young, and you’ve still got to nurture talent, even how exciting it is.”
PAK vs ENG 3rd Test: England hand debut to Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson RESTED for Karachi Test, Check England PlayingXI 3rd Test
