England batter in doubt for Test series against Pakistan

England batter Zak Crawley is likely to miss the tour of Pakistan in October as he is required to undergo surgery for a broken finger.

England is scheduled to tour Pakistan for a three-match Test series, commencing on October 7 in Multan. The second Test will be played from October 15 to 19 in Karachi, while Rawalpindi will host the third Test match from October 24-28.

It is pertinent to mention here that the series between Pakistan and England will be part of the ICC Test Championship 2023-2025.

For the unversed, this will be England’s second tour of Pakistan in two years. They won the last Test series 3-0 in December 2022.

Prior to the tour of Pakistan, England will play three Tests against Sri Lanka later this month and Zak Crawley is expected to miss the series owing to his broken finger.

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The top-order batter suffered the injury while attempting a catch, during the recent Test match against West Indies, which ruled him out from ongoing The Hundred.

Crawley is now in a race against time as the typical recovery period for a broken finger is approximately six to eight weeks, and the upcoming series against Pakistan is just nine weeks away.

 

The 26-year-old cricketer boasts an impressive record against Pakistan in Test cricket, amassing 555 runs in eight innings at an outstanding average of 69.37. Notably, his career-best score of 267 was also achieved against Pakistan in 2020.

It is worth mentioning here that the three-match home Test series against England is part of the Pakistan men’s cricket team’s busy home international season 2024-25.

Besides England, Pakistan will host Bangladesh for a two-match Test series in August, followed by a three-match series against West Indies in January next year while they will play two away Tests against South Africa in December-January.

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