England win toss and opt to bat against Pakistan in third Test

The series is tied 1-1 after England won the first Test by an innings and 47 runs before Pakistan clinched the second by 152 runs, both played in Multan.

Pakistan, seeking a first series win at home since beating South Africa in February 2021, entered the Test with three spinners in Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Zahid Mahmood. Aamer Jamal is their only fast bowler.

England brought in leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed to supplement the spin attack alongside Jack Leach and Shoaib Bashir.

Gus Atkinson returns after being rested for the second Test, with Stokes the other fast bowling option.

Teams:

Pakistan: Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Sajid Khan, Noman Ali, Zahid Mehmood

England: Ben Stokes (captain), Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, Gus Atkinson, Rehan Ahmed, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir

Umpires: Chris Gaffaney (NZL) and Sharfuddoula Saikat (BAN)

Tv umpire: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI)

Match referee: Richie Richardson (WIS)