England make two changes for final Test against Pakistan, Rehan Ahmed to debut in Karachi

The England men's team have announced their playing eleven for the third and final Test against Pakistan in Karachi, which starts on December 17. The visitors have made two changes for the last Test, notably swapping all-rounder Will Jacks for leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed, who was a late addition to the squad.

Ahmed, set to become his nation's youngest men's Test cricketer, impressed in the U-19 50-over World Cup this year in the Caribbean.

The 18-year-old was the second-highest wicket-taker for England, scalping 12 wickets in four matches at 12.58. He went wicketless in the final at North Sound as India won by four wickets to lift the trophy.

The youngster will break the record of legendary Yorkshire batter Brian Close, which has remained intact since 1949. Close made his debut at 18 years and 149 days of age, while Ahmed will do so at 18 years and 126 days of age.

The Leicestershire spin bowler has played only three first-class games, taking nine wickets at 30.11. He was named in the England squad for a training camp in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and added to the senior team during a warm-up fixture in Abu Dhabi in November.

The second change is that of Ben Foakes, who missed the first two Tests, replacing James Anderson. England are 2-0 up in the series and will be looking to complete a series sweep, something no team has achieved in Pakistan in Test cricket.

"Having a wrist-spinner is always exciting, especially for England" - Ben Stokes

Ben Stokes. (Image Credits: Getty)

Earlier, skipper Ben Stokes stated that he is excited by Ahmed's potential and the time he has to nurture his talent. The all-rounder asserted that they picked the leggie, keeping in mind the need to win games.

He said, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:

"I'm struggling to work out what he is, whether he's a batter or a legspinner, which is I guess good because it shows how much talent he's got. We got snippets of what he can do with the bat in that warm-up game briefly. But having a wrist spinner is always exciting, especially for England.

"But it's not getting too carried away with the potential that he has, because he is only young, and you've still got to nurture talent, even how exciting it is."

He continued:

"When we spoke about having Rehan into the squad, it was more than just bringing him in and integrating him into the squad. We did speak about us having no issues with selecting him if we felt it was the right option.

"We picked him in the squad not just because of his talent but because we thought it would be a good opportunity to play if we thought it was necessary."

England's playing XI for the final Test against Pakistan

Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Ollie Robinson, Mark Wood, Jack Leach.