England Test squad: Joe Root hands Ollie Pope return but questions remain over Ben Stokes' replacement as all-rounder

Returning captain Joe Root and England have named their 16-man squad for the opening two Tests against Pakistan - here's what we learnt from the announcement..

Joe Root's first squad in his second spell as captain features the return of Ollie Pope - a player whose international career looked dead and buried at the start of 2026.

Pope is a former vice-captain and the second-most capped player in the squad, playing 64 Tests over seven years and functioning as England's incumbent No 3 under previous skipper Ben Stokes, but was dropped during a dismal away Ashes series that saw him play six innings without making a fifty.

The Surrey batter, though, has been handed a chance to resurrect his international career almost nine months after his last appearance, returning after a strong County Championship campaign which has seen him score 510 runs at an average of 56.66.

While he is expected to come in as a reserve, Pope will hope to provide England with much-needed experience in what is a new era for the Test side.

"Pope has gone back and played and scored runs at Surrey," England selector Marcus North said.

"Apart from [Ben] Duckett, Root, [Harry] Brook and [Jamie] Smith, the rest of those players are still very much at the early stages of their careers, or trying to re-establish themselves at Test level.

"To have someone [like Pope] with experience of not just playing... but also it's been well said that he's got good leadership and character around the group.

"[He has] the ability to play multiple roles if called upon, and also having the wicketkeeping as part of his armoury gives us the ideal person for these first two Tests to be there as a reserve."

While Pope's return will begin on the sidelines, a reinvigorating domestic campaign - in conjunction with a fresh start for England under Root and Stephen Fleming, who will take over as head coach after the Pakistan series - has provided a lifeline to a previously dwindling career at Test level.

Meanwhile, Brendon McCullum, who was sacked as Test coach in July but remains white-ball coach, has said Brook's "time will come" as Test captain.