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Jacob Bethell ruled out, Ollie Pope returns as England announce squad for Pakistan Tests

hellohimachalse@gmail.com 06 Aug 2026 1 hour ago

New Delhi: Jacob Bethell has been ruled out of the due to a knee injury, while Ollie Pope, Brydon Carse and Dan Lawrence have returned as announced the 16-member squad for the opening two games.

Lawrence will make a comeback to the Test team for the first time in two years after a brilliant campaign with Surrey in the County Championship. He is set to bat at No.6 after becoming the second-highest run-scorer in Division One this County season.

Jamie Smith will move down to No. 7 after batting in a position higher in England’s last Test series against New Zealand. Jordan Cox, who made his Test debut against New Zealand, is set to replace Bethell at No. 3, who suffered a knee injury during England’s three-match ODI series against India last month and will miss the entire Pakistan series.

Other players missing from the squad, who played in the third Test against New Zealand, include former skipper Ben Stokes, who has announced his retirement from international cricket, the injured Bethell and legspinner Rehan Ahmed, who has been dropped.

The Test series against Pakistan will also mark England’s first assignment after the Stokes-Brendon McCullum era, with Joe Root taking over the charge again since stepping down from the role in 2022. Stephen Fleming was recently appointed as the coach of the Test team, but will start his tenure later in the year when England tour South Africa.

Marcus Trescothick will be the interim head coach for the Pakistan series. The first Test of the series will be played at Leeds, followed by the second match at Lord’s Cricket Ground from August 27. The third and last Test will be played at Edgbaston from September 9.

England squad for first two Tests against Pakistan

Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.

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