Pakistan captain Shan Masood wary of England threat without Ben Stokes in opening Test

Pakistan Test skipper Shan Masood is not expecting a dip in England's performance without their designated captain, Ben Stokes, in the opening Test in Multan from Monday. Stokes is still recuperating from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of England's three home Tests against Sri Lanka. There was a wave of positivity in the England camp about Stokes regaining his fitness in time to once again lead the Three Lions on their away tour of Pakistan.

However, Stokes still needs time to return to his groove and be 100 per cent fit to lead the England side once again. In his absence, Ollie Pope has been once again called to serve as the stand-in skipper of the Test side. Even though England are missing one of its star performers in the opening Test, Masood expects the visitors to cope with their balanced "playing XI".

"We all know the quality of Ben Stokes. He is one of the top all-rounders in the world. But England have played without him. Their strengths won't decline without one person. Their playing XI is balanced. They have all-rounders who can bat, and they have spinners. Joe Root gives them an extra option in the spin department. Their batting is deep," Masood said on the eve of the opening Test in Multan.

The opening Test will mark Pope's debut as England Test captain in an away Test. He has a fair share of experience leading the England side after his brief sting as the skipper during the Sri Lanka series. Under his leadership, England won back-to-back Tests and celebrated a 2-1 series triumph.

Pope will have a major challenge in the opening Test, living up to the expectations of England's tour to Pakistan in 2022. With Stokes at the helm, England effortlessly swept the series away with a 3-0 win. Masood reflected on the last time England visited Pakistan and is keen to draw inspiration from the positives that they produced during that series.

"If we have to draw inspiration and learn lessons from our last series against England. We played at this ground in the last series, and we came close to victory. There were opportunities to win. As a Test squad, we have made mistakes even in my tenure of taking the match-winning position and then letting it slip away," Masood added.

Pakistan (Playing XI) for the first Test against England: Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Abrar Ahmed.

England (Playing XI) for the first Test against Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope (c), Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir. (ANI)