England touchdown in Islamabad for first Test series since 2005
The England team reached Islamabad early Sunday morning for the three-match Test series against Pakistan.
England Cricket shared a video of the team’s arrival at the Islamabad International Airport, from Abu Dhabi where the English men played practice matches.
The team was shifted to a hotel in the federal capital under strict security arrangements. The British High Commissioner in Islamabad will host a dinner in the English team’s honour. The event will be attended by different Pakistani officials.
The home series is slated to begin on December 1, with the first Test to be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium. It will be a Test match to be played for the first time in the Pindi stadium’s history. Later, the second Test will be hosted in Multan while the last Test will be played in Karachi.
Meanwhile, Pakistan team — who have been practicing for days — will rest today. The two sides will start training again at the Rawalpindi stadium from tomorrow till Wednesday (November 28-30).
It may be noted that the Men in Green will participate in the second practice session, while English men will attend the first practice session.
England skipper Ben Stokes, who led his side to the glorious victory of T20 World Cup 2022 against the Men in Green, will be captaining the team in the Test series, the first in 17 years to be played in Pakistan. The England Test squad toured Pakistan in 2005.
The English men visited Pakistan after a hiatus of the same duration, to play a seven-match T20 series in September, and won 4-3.
England Test squad
Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes (wk), Joe Root, James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Rehan Ahmed, Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood.
Pakistan Squad
Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Haris Rauf, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Wasim Jr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Zahid Mehmood.
Schedule of Tests
December 1-5 – 1st Test, Rawalpindi
December 9-13 – Second Test, Multan
December 17-21 – Third Test, Karachi
