Pleasing News for England! Captain Ben Stokes likely to return in the 2nd Test-Match versus Pakistan: After securing an easy win in the first Test-Match match in Multan, England will be receiving yet another good news as their full-time Test skipper Ben Stokes, who was absent from the opening Test-Match due to a hamstring-injury is anticipated to return in the second encounter of the series.
According to some news-reports, Stokes is focussing on returning to full match-fitness levels and the captain of the Three Lions is likely to feature in the 2nd match of the Three-match Test-Series, provided no mishaps take place.
The 33-year-old tore his hamstring back in August during the Hundred tournament and while he was picked in England’s test squad for the Pakistan series, he failed to heal on time and thereby he didn’t take part in the opening Test-Match.
England’s stand-in skipper Ollie Pope, in an interview with UK based Sky Sports, provided an update regarding the status of Stokes’s injury and while he didn’t mention anything regarding the process of recovery, the 26-year-old smiled when he was asked if Stokes will make a comeback in the 2nd Test-Match Or not.
Who’s place will Stokes take in the Starting XI if he makes a comeback in the 2nd Test-Match?
The most obvious choice here is England’s Stand-in-skipper Ollie Pope. He was the only English batsman who wasn’t able to contribute much with the bat in the Multan Test-Match and should be dropped if Stokes makes a return in the 2nd Test-Match.
The other English batters, including the injured opening batter Ben Duckett performed well and as a result, won’t be dropped in favor of Stokes.
Another bold move which the Three lions can make is by replacing Shoaib Bashir with Stokes in the Starting XI. The 33-year-old can contribute with both bat and ball and this can prove to be a good option for England. Plus, Shoaib didn’t have a good outing with the ball as he picked up just a single wicket and proved very costly by giving away 124 runs.
The Third option would be to bring Stokes in the side in place of Chris Woakes. But, that move will happen only if Stokes will be allowed to bowl. If he can play as a proper All-Rounder, then he can replace Woakes.
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