England have decided to play three frontline spinners in the third Test against Pakistan and have included Rehan Ahmed in the XI. The other change from the side that played the second Test in Multan is seeing Gus Atkinson return to the side. They replace fast bowlers Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts.
Ahmed last played for England in India and had stayed on the sidelines during the entire English summer. He made his Test debut in Karachi in December 2022 and took five wickets in the third innings to help his side complete a 3-0 whitewash over the hosts, their first-ever clean sweep at home in the format. Ahmed, to date, has 18 wickets in four Tests at 34.50. He joins Jack Leach, the leading wicket-taker in the series with 14 scalps, and Shoaib Bashir.
Taking four wickets for 136 runs on perhaps the most benign ground the hosts have laid since the format’s return to the nation, Atkinson was instrumental in England’s decisive victory over Pakistan in the first Test. In the fourth day’s evening session, he played a crucial role in getting the ball to reverse and dismissed Shan Masood and Babar Azam, leaving Pakistan at 41 for 3.
While reverse swing might not come into play as much as it did in Multan, as the groundstaff has left the square plush, Atkinson’s ability to bowl in high 140kphs will certainly Test Pakistan. The other pacer in England’s XI is captain Ben Stokes, who returned to cricket after nine weeks in the last Test and bowled 10 overs which were equally split across Pakistan’s two innings.
Over the past three days, Pakistan has made several radical steps to bring the Rawalpindi surface closer to Multan’s, which has traditionally favored seamers over spinners. Similar to what they did in Multan before the second Test, the ground crew has set up industrial fans on both ends. To speed up the drying process, they installed gas heaters down the strip and used windbreakers on both sides to trap the heat on the 22-year-olds. Despite all of this, England seems certain that the pitch will help the spinners more.
Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (C), Jamies Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir, and Zak Crawley make up the England starting lineup.