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Ben Stokes, the England captain, who is recovering from an hamstring injury in the last couple of months, is doubtful to play the first Test of the three-match series against Pakistan in Multan from October 7 onwards. Zak Crawley, who declared himself fit after a finger injury ruled him out from the majority of the English summer, gave the latest update on Ben Stokes’ fitness, stating that he still has a couple of more tests before the team management will decide on his inclusion in the playing XI.
Notably, after arriving in Pakistan on Wednesday, October 2, the England cricket team did their training session at the Multan Cricket Stadium earlier today. As per the report from ESPNcricinfo, Ben Stokes was spotted practising his batting skills for half an hour in the nets before taking the ball with a short run-up on Friday, October 4, but he didn’t look quite at his optimum best during the training session, putting his participation in the first Test in doubt.
We've got a really deep squad, with plenty of options : Zak Crawley on coping without Ben Stokes
Zak Crawley spoke about how England have depth in their Test squad to ensure that they don’t miss Ben Stokes much in the field in case he isn’t picked to play against Pakistan in the first Test in Multan. He was quoted as saying, “We've got a really deep squad, with plenty of options with the ball and with the bat as well. We feel ready. Whatever team comes out, it will be a nice balance either way.”
The English team management are known to announce their Test playing XI a couple of days in advance under head coach Brendon McCullum, but this time around, according to Zak Crawley, they might make the call on Ben Stokes as late as possible. He said, “He (Ben Stokes) seems to be going well, recovering well from his injury. We don't know just yet. I think he's got to do a few more tests, but he's been doing some running and stuff.”
England are slated to play the first two Tests of the three-match series at the Multan Cricket Stadium before moving to the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium for the third Test, slated to begin on October 24.
