Rehan Ahmed's return triggers concerns as England prepare for treacherous pitch in Pakistan decider

England is set to deploy a three-pronged spin attack on the Rawalpindi pitch, which Harry Brook suspects has been tampered with by local groundstaff to favor Pakistan's spinners. Rehan Ahmed will make his return to the team, joining forces with Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach. Gus Atkinson will also be included in the playing XI, while Brydon Carse and Matthew Potts will be left out of the squad.

Rehan played three Tests in India at the start of this year but has not featured for England in any format since February. But England believe they will need him as a third spin frontline option this week, with Pakistan going to extreme lengths in an attempt to dry out the pitch in Rawalpindi after their 152-run victory on a recycled strip in Multan.

"They've had the rakes out, the fans and the heaters on the pitch," Brook said. "Everyone goes and looks at the wicket and says something different… Hopefully, it's just like any other Pakistani pitch. It's good to bat on for the first few days and then hopefully, we can get a bit of turn out of it at the back end of the game."

Rehan took a five-wicket haul on Test debut in Karachi two years ago

•

Matthew Lewis/Getty Images

The move is a risk, leaving Atkinson and Ben Stokes as England's only two fast-bowling options at a venue that has historically suited seam over spin. But it has also been among the world's best for batting since its return to staging Tests in 2019, as England demonstrated when racking up 657 in 101 overs in their famous win here two years ago.

"I think the conditions are going to be a little bit different," Brook said. "We played on an extremely flat pitch here last time. It was awesome to bat on, and we scored a good rate of knots. This game's probably going to be slightly different. It might turn earlier on: who knows? It might be a good pitch to start with and we get off to a flyer."

The lush square at Rawalpindi may have informed England's selection, with reverse-swing unlikely to be a major factor this week. In Multan, the strips either side of the Test pitch were cut short and were dry and abrasive by the second Test, enabling England's seamers to reverse the old ball. This week, there are only three strips cut across the square: the Test pitch and two practice pitches.

Brook was out for 9 and 16 to Pakistan's spinners in the second Test, and predicted Sajid Khan and Noman Ali will play "a massive part" in Rawalpindi. "I've spoken to a few of the lads about gameplans and how we're going to go about it," he said. "Hopefully, it pays off and I play a big part in the game."

Related

Leach comes back stronger for England after feeling the love

Brendon McCullum plays down England spin concerns as Pindi decider looms

Shoaib Bashir's raw returns turn spotlight on England's spin gamble

Switch Hit: Spinner, spinner, chicken dinner

Pakistan deploy fans, heaters in bid to produce Rawalpindi turner

It was in Pakistan two years ago that Rehan made his international debut as an 18-year-old, taking 5 for 48 in the second innings in Karachi to set up England's eight-wicket win, which clinched a 3-0 clean sweep. His progress has not been linear since and he was expensive in India earlier this year, taking 11 wickets at 44.00 across three appearances and conceding more than four runs per over.

This summer, Rehan was outperformed by his offspinning younger brother Farhan in the County Championship and his returns fell away in white-ball cricket: he was dropped by Southern Brave early in the Hundred after two expensive outings, and was then left out of England's T20I and ODI squads against Australia in September.

But England have been long-term admirers: Rehan was famously a net bowler at the age of 11 and has been in the national set-up throughout his professional career, starting at Under-19s level. He is heading into the second year of a two-year central contract, and has also worked on his batting this summer, with four Championship fifties, and will bolster England's lower order from No. 9.

Carse and Potts are both officially rested, with Atkinson returning after taking match figures of 4 for 145 in England's innings win in the first Test. Carse has been England's outstanding bowler of the tour, taking nine wickets at 24.33 across his first two appearances, but has bowled 67 overs in the series and has played back-to-back Tests.

England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope, 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Ben Stokes (capt), 7 Jamie Smith (wk), 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib Bashir.