England face major setback ahead of Test series against Pakistan

England pacer Josh Hull has been ruled out of the squad for the Test series against Pakistan, scheduled to begin on October 7.

Hull suffered a quad injury which would keep him out of the Pakistan tour, as per the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

“Josh Hull has been ruled out of our Test tour of Pakistan due to a quad injury,” said ECB in a brief statement on social media as England is yet to decide on calling for a replacement.

Hull was one of the six pacers included in England’s 17-member squad for the three-match away Test series against Pakistan.

However, his injury has forced the young pacer to join Mark Wood and Josh Tongue on the sidelines.

It is worth mentioning here that the 20-year-old made his Test debut against Sri Lanka earlier this month, after playing only 10 first-class matches.

In his debut game, Josh Hull bagged three wickets as England were beaten in the third Test at The Oval. He was then ruled out of the limited-overs series against Australia.

His injury came amid concerns regarding England captain Ben Stokes’s bowling in the PAK v ENG Test series.

In a recent interview, Stokes had said that he was on track to represent England in the all-important red-ball series.

“I think that’s you getting ahead of yourself. Obviously I’ve been six-and-a-half weeks now of just walking and doing stuff in the gym,” Ben Stokes said when asked about the prospects of him bowling in the Pakistan Tests.

“There’s a lot more than just my hamstring that I need to get back firing and working up again in terms of bowling, because you use everything, so I need to get that all right to make sure I don’t do any damage to other parts of my body,” he added.