Test series: Pakistan win toss, bat against England

Multan: In the first match of the three-Test series between Pakistan and England, Pakistan won the toss and decided to bat first on Monday.

In the first Test being played at the Multan Cricket Stadium, Shan Masood, the captain of the national team, won the toss and decided to bat first against England.

It is pertinent to note that Ollie Pope is leading the team in the absence of Ben Stokes, the captain of the England test team, while national fast bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi, who was dropped from the second test match against Bangladesh due to the birth of his son, is back in the team.

Pakistan Playing XI

Shaan Masood (c), Saeem Ayub, Abdullah Shafiq, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Muhammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Aamir Jamal, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and Abrar Ahmed.

England Playing XI

Ollie Pope (c), Zac Crawley, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (wk), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brayden Carrs, Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.