Alex Lees and Matthew Potts remain part of the new England squad led by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, while Stuart Broad will not be part of the tour.
Keaton Jennings and Ben Duckett are competing for the vacancy at the top of the order with Zak Crowley, recalled to the Test set-up after three-and-a-half and six-year absences, respectively, on the back of strong County Championship seasons.
The inclusion of Liam Livingstone in the squad was one of the surprises and a day after he was handed his first central contract by the ECB. He was an extra batsman during England’s tour of New Zealand in early 2018, but has not featured in the Test set-up since then and has played less and less red-ball cricket since his success as a T20 player.
Since the start of 2020, he has scored 114 first-class runs spread over nine innings, most recently in August 2021. But he has often reiterated his desire to play Test cricket and his ability to spin the ball both ways, bowling legspin and offspin both opening up an opportunity.
Jack Leach will be England’s only frontline spinner on the tour, with Jack, Surrey’s offspinning all-rounder, with Livingstone as the other part-time option. Leicestershire legspinner Rehan Ahmed is expected to be part of the Lions squad which will play a warm-up game against the Test side in Abu Dhabi at the end of November and may travel to Pakistan as a net bowler.
Potts did not find a place in the team after making an impressive start to his international career against New Zealand, but his return came against India and South Africa, which resulted in Robinson losing his place when he was declared fully fit. Sam Curran, Ollie Stone and Chris Woakes have all been overlooked.
ECB are in the process of recruiting a new, full-time selector, but England Managing Director Rob Key, with input from the ECB’s Talent ID department, picked the team along with McCullum and Stokes. The Lions team is due to be announced next week.
Key worked as a broadcaster on Australia’s 1–0 win in March – the most recent Test series held in Pakistan. “The selectors have picked a team for the conditions one can expect in Pakistan,” he added. “There is a strong mix of youth and experience and players who will be well suited for the pitches we get in the three-match series.
“We look forward to touring Pakistan as a Test team for the first time since 2005,” Key said. “It will be a historic tour and a fascinating series against a good team. I wish every success to the players, especially those who are new to the team and those who are coming back after some time.”
England are due to reach Abu Dhabi on November 18 and will play a three-day warm-up match against the Lions from November 23-25. They will fly to Pakistan on 26 November and play Tests in Rawalpindi (December 1-5), Multan (December 9-13) and Karachi (December 17-21).
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), James Anderson, Harry Brooke, Jack Crowley, Ben Duckett, Ben Fox (wk), Will Jack, Keaton Jennings, Jack Leach, Liam Livingstone, Jamie Overton, Ollie Pope, Olly Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood