Pak vs Eng: England team reach Islamabad for first Test series in 17 years

The England team touched down in Islamabad in the wee hours of Sunday to play the three-match Test series against Pakistan, for the first time in 17 years.

A video shared by England Cricket showed the team member's arrival at the Islamabad International Airport from Abu Dhabi, where the Englishmen trained.

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 Test series will 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 – First Test, Rawalpindi

December 9-13 – Second Test, Multan

December 17-21 – Third Test, Karachi