England captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the first Test in Pakistan as he continues to recover from a torn hamstring.
Stokes sustained the injury in August while playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred and subsequently missed his side’s 2-1 series win over Sri Lanka.
He had been hoping to lead his country out in Multan on Monday but is not yet ready to take the field, meaning deputy Ollie Pope will take charge of his first overseas Test.
Picking up the prep in Pakistan!
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“I tried my hardest to get myself fit for this first game but I’ve taken the call to miss this one. I’ve not quite managed to get game ready,” he said.
“There is a lot that has to go into my rehab programme. We got to a certain point, but looking at the bigger picture of what we’ve got coming up and physically where I’m at, I’m not quite ready to play.
“It’s always frustrating to miss out. I’ve got some good things to focus on, so even though I’m not playing I’ve got a goal in mind. I’ve got a good 10 days to get myself ready for the second.”
