England have announced their playing XI for the first Test against Pakistan in Multan. Among the major talking points are the return of Zak Crawley and Jack Leach, a debut cap for seamer Brydon Carse, and the absence of regular skipper Ben Stokes.

Stokes tore his hamstring in August while batting for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred. He had to be helped off the field, and was soon ruled out of the entire home Test series against Sri Lanka. Ollie Pope captained in his absence.

Last month, Stokes said he would not rush himself back into action, opting for the safer route of potentially being out for slightly longer in the short-term rather than risking long-term damage to his health.

Stokes: I'm further ahead than what we expected

In a media interaction, Stokes told BBC Sport, "I tried my hardest to get myself fit for this game, but have taken the call to miss this one because I’ve not quite managed to get game-ready.

"There is a lot that has to go into my rehab programme. We got to a certain point, but looking at the picture of what we've got coming up and physically where I'm at, I'm not quite ready to play.

"It's always frustrating to miss out. I've got some good things to focus on, so even though I'm not playing I've got a goal in mind.

"I've pushed myself incredibly hard and worked really hard with the medical team to get to where I'm at now. I think I'm further ahead than what we expected. I'll be working just as hard over the next 10 days to try to get myself fit for the second Test."

Read more: What do England do if Ben Stokes isn't fully fit for the first Test?

He was named in the squad to tour Pakistan, and has travelled to Asia but his fitness has been in question throughout. Even if Stokes does play in the series at all, it is likely he will play as a batter alone, rather than taking up the workload of an all-rounder.

The news comes as a blow to an England side who still stand a slim chance of making the World Test Championship final, by winning all six of their remaining matches. It is also a setback from the recovery point of view for Stokes, as just ten days ago the ECB had issued a statement saying that after carrying out scans on Stokes, he was on track to participate in the Pakistan Tests.

England XI for first Test against Pakistan

Ollie Pope will take the reins again in Stokes' absence. Despite Stokes' absence, the team will be buoyed by the arrival of first-choice opener Crawley, who missed the Sri Lanka series due to injury, as well as the return of left-arm spinner Jack Leach, who is making a comeback to the England Test XI for the first time since the first Test againt India earlier this year.

The Test will also mark the debut of right-arm pacer Carse, who has played 19 ODIs and four T20Is for England so far. The rest of the bowling line up is made of Chris Woakes, who is making a return of his own in Test matches in Asian conditions, the in-form Gus Atkinson, and off-spinner Shoaib Bashir.

The first Test between England and Pakistan begins on Monday, October 7 in Multan.

England XI: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.

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