Rawalpindi, Pakistan

England have added Rehan Ahmed and Gus Atkinson to their Playing XI for the Rawalpindi Test as they prepare for the showdown clash. Having lost the second Multan Test by 152 runs, the English management has included three spinners considering the spin-friendly nature of the pitch in Rawalpindi. Ahmed will be available for the first time since February, having last played in the Rajkot Test against India, while Atkinson returns after skipping the first Test in Multan.

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England announce squad for Rawalpindi Test

With the series level at 1-1, England anticipated the need for three spin bowlers and roped in Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, and Shoaib Bashir. Atkinson will share the pace bowling duties with skipper Ben Stokes, who are the only options in that department. England have, however, retained faith in Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook as they remain the untouchables in the side.

England won the first match in Multan by an innings and 47 runs, where records were broken left, right, and centre. Brook scored 317 while Root ended with 262 runs as Pakistan lost despite scoring 556 runs in their first innings.

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On the other hand, Sajid Khan (nine wickets) and Noman Ali (11 wickets) were the architects of the Pakistan win in the second Multan Test. The win was also Pakistan’s first on home turf in three years, and they now aim for their first series win on home soil in Test format since 2005.

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The second Test match will start on Thursday (Oct 24) with points up for stake in the World Test Championship (WTC). Both sides are virtually out of the WTC final race but will look to add to their tally by winning the series.

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England Squad

1. Zak Crawley, 2. Ben Duckett, 3. Ollie Pope, 4. Joe Root, 5. Harry Brook, 6. Ben Stokes (capt), 7. Jamie Smith (wk), 8. Gus Atkinson, 9. Rehan Ahmed, 10. Jack Leach, 11. Shoaib Bashir.