England has announced their playing XI for the third Test against Pakistan, which starts on October 24 in Rawalpindi. Following their loss in the second Test, the series is now levelled at 1-1 as another spin-friendly surface awaits them.
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Captain Ben Stokes will hope to inspire his side to overcome the spin challenge of the Pakistan duo of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali. At the same time, England has made two changes, bringing in leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed and Gus Atkinson, after resting Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts.
Why did England pick Rehan Ahmed for the Rawalpindi Test?
The Pakistan team have made it clear that they will be preparing a dry and spin-friendly surface at Rawalpindi, after finding success with the strategy during the second Test at Multan.
In the 2nd Test match, spinners Sajid and Noman picked up all of the team's 20 wickets in the match as Pakistan recorded their first Test win at home in over 3 years.
While England had finger-spinners Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir in their XI, the addition of Rehan Ahmed will add another dimension to their arsenal as a wrist spinner, who will be expected to generate extra turn off the surface.
Fast bowlers Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts proved to be ineffective in the second Test due to the dry surface and have been rested for Rawalpindi. In addition, Rehan is a handy-batter, who can extend the team's run-contribution lower down the order.
Similarly, Gus Atkinson provides a decent batting potential for the team along with his express pace in the early hours of the match and with the new ball.
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England’s playing XI for the 3 rdTest vs Pakistan
The confirmed playing XI for England are:
- Zak Crawley
- Ben Duckett
- Ollie Pope
- Joe Root
- Harry Brook
- Ben Stokes (C)
- Jamie Smith (WK)
- Rehan Ahmed
- Gus Atkinson
- Jack Leach
- Shoaib Bashir
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