Ben Stokes will miss first Test against Pakistan in Multan as he continues to tend to a hamstring injury. ECB announced the playing XI for the opening match of the series starting on Monday, October 7, through X (formerly Twitter). Ollie Pope, who led England to a 2-1 win over Sri Lanka last month, has been handed the leadership role in the absence of Stokes. Zak Crawley comes back into the playing eleven after treatment for the side injury that kept him out of the Sri Lanka series. Spinner Jack Leach has also returned after last being picked up by England in January 2024. Leach had been unavailable due to an injury. ECB said: "Durham seamer Brydon Carse will be making his Test debut. With England captain Ben Stokes still recovering from a hamstring tear, Ollie Pope will captain the side in his absence. Somerset spinner Jack Leach makes a return to the Test set-up for the first time since the India tour in January, while Kent opening bat Zak Crawley rejoins the team after fully recovering from a broken finger sustained during the summer." Also Read | Franchises Reach Out to BCCI, Raising Concerns over the New RTM Clause Pacer Brydon Carse takes the place of the injured Josh Hull from the XI to play his Test debut. England's XI for 1st 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 England Whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 in 2022 It was in the three-match Test series in December 2022 that England whitewashed Pakistan. This season, so far, England has won five out of six Tests, while all five Tests lost by Pakistan were during Shan Masood's captaincy after Babar Azam had given up the Test captaincy last year. Recently, Babar Azam left the captaincy of the limited-over cricket of Pakistan. Pakistan need to win at least two of the remaining three matches to keep their hopes for a probable spot in WTC 2023-25 final, placed eighth in points table.