'Nothing to do with me' - Ben Stokes opens up on exclusion of key players from Pakistan's squad for remainder of Test series

There has been a significant buildup to the second Test of the three-match series between Pakistan and England for primarily a couple of reasons - full-time skipper of England's red-ball skipper, Ben Stokes, making a return to the squad after recovering from a ruptured hamstring which had him ruled out of the entire series against Sri Lanka and the first Test in Multan, and the exclusion of a handful of seasoned campaigners from the hosts' setup.

In a recent press conference which saw Stokes take centre stage in Multan, a reporter asked him his views on the Pakistan Cricket Board dropping the likes of ace batter Babar Azam, left-arm pacer Shaheen Afridi, and right-arm quick Naseem Shah from the 16-member squad for the second and third Tests. Stokes, who by the looks of it, was looking forward to the prolonged manner in which the correspondent framed his question, was quick to retort that it was not something that was in direct relation to his side, thus refusing to comment on that issue. 

Watch the video below: 

"That's just a Pakistan Cricket Issue ": Ben Stokes regarding the absence of Babar, Shaheen & Naseem in the 2nd Test🗣#PakPassion #PAKvsENG pic.twitter.com/YNDbCR00hg

— PakPassion.net (@PakPassion) October 14, 2024

Also Read: ‘Absolutely stupid decision’ - Michael Vaughan reflects on Pakistan dropping Babar Azam from Test squad

Stokes returns to Test side in place of Woakes

Stokes' absence from the Test side made way for bowling all-rounder, Chris Woakes, to make his entry into the XI. Woakes gained a long-awaited return to Test cricket in Asia after a hiatus of nearly eight years following an impressive display throughout the three-match series against Sri Lanka in August and September.

Also Read: PCB defends call to drop Babar Azam, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah from second, third Tests vs England

Although Woakes did not do much wrong in the first Test of the series, he saw himself getting sidelined to accommodate a returning Stokes in the XI. Another notable swap is Matthew Potts coming in for Gus Atkinson.