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Before winning the 2022 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the England team toured Pakistan for a seven-match T20I series which they won by a margin of 4-3, and now it’s time for the Three Lions to pull out their white flannels.
On Monday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced an 18-man Test squad that will take on Ben Stokes and his troops, the mighty English side with head coach Baz McCullum at the helm of the red ball format.
For the series that is to be contested shortly, England had named their 15-member squad in the second week of October. And today, they have added an uncapped 18-year-old leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed to their star-studded line up.
Rehan, who has been with Stokes & Co. in their red-ball training camp in the UAE and is currently playing in the three-day warm-up fixture against the England Test squad in Abu Dhabi, impressed coaches with his attitude and genuine potential to be given a maiden call up for the senior side.
“Ben, myself and the rest of the coaches like how he approaches his game,” McCullum said about Rehan’s selection.
“The experience of being part of the squad in Pakistan will be hugely beneficial for him, and he will add to the make-up of our squad,” Baz added.
If included in the starting XI during the three-match Test series – the first time England will play in Pakistan after 17 years – Rehan will become the youngest cricketer to play a Test match for England Men’s team, surpassing Brian Close, who represented the Three Lions at 18 years 149 days against New Zealand in July 1949.
The series will begin with the first Test in Rawalpindi on December 1 followed by the next two games in Multan and Karachi.
England’s Test squad for Pakistan tour:
Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Harry Brook, Joe Root, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (wk), Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed.
