England will play a Test series in Pakistan for the first time since 2005.
The Ben Stokes-led England cricket team has finally embarked on their historic Test tour of Pakistan for the first time since 2005. They also recently visited Pakistan for a T20I series in September and October.
After giving the final touches to their preparations for the three-match Test series against the Babar Azam-led Pakistan Cricket Team in Abu Dhabi, the England team arrived in Pakistan early Sunday (November 27). Notably, England team played a warm-up game against Three Lions in Abu Dhabi.
England cricket shared a short clip of its players’ arrival at the Benazir Bhutto International Airport in Rawalpindi on Sunday, where stars like James Anderson and Ben Stokes were seen with their luggage along with their team mates.
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Well, England will play a Test match in Pakistan for the first time in 17 years when they take on the hosts in the opening match of the three-match Test series on December 1 in Rawalpindi.
Notably, England were due to visit Pakistan last year, but they scrapped their plans after New Zealand abandoned their tour minutes before the first ODI, citing security alerts. However, they fulfilled their promise this year by visiting the country, and once they landed in Pakistan, the ECB expressed its delight on Twitter.
Sharing a video on Twitter, England cricket wrote in the caption: “Touchdown in Pakistan for our Men’s Test squad! ????????”
Meanwhile, England captain Stokes said before leaving for Pakistan in Abu Dhabi: “It's been a long time since England have played Test cricket in Pakistan. With what happened with Imran Khan recently, there was a little bit of concern, but we have Reg Dickason, who has been the security man for many years with England, and we left it in his capable hands.”
He signed off by saying, “In terms of the tour itself, I'm really looking forward to it. I've never been there, and I'm quite interested to see what the security lark is like. I've heard it's pretty intense.”
Here’s the England Test squad for Pakistan tour:
Ben Stokes (C), James Anderson, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes (WK), Will Jacks, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Rehan Ahmed