A report in the Evening Standard said that England pacer Stuart Broad is likely to be ruled out of the Test tour of Pakistan in December as his fiancee Molly King is due to give birth before the end of the year.
England are scheduled to play three Test matches, starting from December 1 in Rawalpindi, while the other two matches will be held in Multan and Karachi.
Read also | ‘First off’: Yuvraj Singh, Irfan Pathan congratulate Shubman Gill for scoring maiden ODI century
This will be the first time in 17 years that England will play a Test on Pakistani soil. He last toured the subcontinent in 2005, after which Pakistan was left isolated in 2009 as a result of the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team bus in Lahore.
Ahead of the Test series, England are also scheduled to play seven T20 matches in Pakistan in September-October to prepare for the ICC T20. World cup. Following the global event in Australia, England will be up against Pakistan’s return for three Test matches.
The report said that as a result of the family’s commitment, Broad “is set to miss the tour this winter”. The 36-year-old bowler has never played in Pakistan in his 15-year international career.
Broad’s absence from the tour will mean he will have to wait five more months for his next opportunity to play red-ball cricket for England after the ongoing series against South Africa ends next month.
Broad would like to end the ongoing three-Test series against the Proteas on a high, given that if he skips the Pakistan tour in December, his next chance will come in February 2023 when England play against New Zealand in February. Will play two tests.
Broad’s outing in the first Test against South Africa at Lord’s was a forgettable one, where he got just one wicket as England lost the match by an innings and 12 runs.
Read also: ‘Virat and I don’t really come across each other’ – Ben Stokes on his rivalry with Virat Kohli
Broad admitted in his column for the Daily Mail after the loss that he was “a bit fluke” in the match.
“Personally, maybe I was a bit tentative, questioning my rhythm and how my action was, instead of really focusing on being competitive. Maybe the ‘I’m coming for you, batter’ attitude of mine. It was not what people associate with me.
“Maybe I erred on the side of caution because I wasn’t going to the Test match. We didn’t play for six weeks and you just have to take a little bit of your competitive spirit to show it at the international level,” he said in his column. Told.
get the latest cricket news, Schedule And cricket live score Here