England captain Ben Stokes who will be making his return to the side in the 2nd Test against Pakistan after an injury layoff, refused to comment on the ongoing selection controversy which saw Pakistan drop former skipper Babar Azam, Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah from squad after the 1st Test.
“Everything on that. That’s Pakistan’s cricket issue. Nothing to do with me,” Stokes said when he was asked to react to Pakistan lining up without Babar, Shaheen and Naseem.
On Sunday, after Pakistan dropped former captain Babar as well as Afridi, Shah and Sarfaraz Ahmed from the squad for the remaining two matches in the series, Aaqib Javed from the selection panel had stated, “Selecting the squad for the upcoming Tests against England has been a challenging task for the selectors. We’ve had to carefully consider current player form, the urgency to bounce back in the series and Pakistan’s demanding 2024-25 international schedule.”
Sweetly done, Ben Stokes 🎯#PAKvENG
— Ameer Hamza Asif (@AmeerHamzaAsif) October 14, 2024
Stokes, who has been out of action due to a hamstring problem, is one of the two changes in the England side that beat Pakistan in the first Test by an innings and 47 runs. Fast bowler Matthew Potts was included in place of Gus Atkinson.
Stokes has replaced pacer Chris Woakes while England have retained both spinners Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach in their eleven.
According to the visiting team management, Stokes has bowled and batted without any discomfort in the nets in the last few days and was cleared by medical experts to make his comeback.
The 33-year-old all-rounder last played in the Hundred where he sustained his injury in August forcing him to miss the entire three-match series against Sri Lanka at home. He also missed the first Test against Pakistan.
(With agency inputs)
