England name Samit Patel as Zafar Ansari’s replacement in Test squad vs Pakistan

England have named Samit Patel as replacement for Zafar Ansari for England’s series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ansari was named in the Test squad, but injured himself right after he was named in the England squad a few days earlier. Samit, who played his last Test against India at Kolkata in 2012, will look to grab his opportunity with both hands. Samit is a veteran in the First-Class circuit, having picked up 237 wickets in his 163 appearances so far. England will take on Pakistan in three Tests, five One-Day Internationals (ODI) and three T20 Internationals (T20I). READ: Morgan, Taylor and Root should form middle-order for England vs Pakistan

England kick-start their campaign in the first Test at Abu Dhabi on October 13. They play a couple of warm-up matches before the series. Alastair Cook will be the captain for the Tests, but Eoin Morgan will take over as skipper for the limited overs. The ODI matches begin from November 11 and the T20I series begin from November 26. The Test side recently are on a high after defeating Australia in the Ashes 2015 but the ODI side suffered a narrow 2-3 loss against their arch-rivals. READ: England announce central contracts; Mark Wood, Eoin Morgan get nod for first time

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Cook is a part of the Essex squad for the upcoming matches and will look to spend some good amount of time at the crease before he and his side embark upon their journey to the UAE. READ: Alastair Cook to play County ahead of Pakistan series in UAE