Samir Patel replaces injured Ansari for England-Pakistan Test series

Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samir Patel will replace uncapped Surrey all-rounder Zafar Ansari, who had dislocated his left thumb during a match against Lancashire, for the upcoming three-match Test series against Pakistan.

Confirming the news, national selector James Whitaker said that Samir Patel was similar to Zafar in terms of cricketing qualities and skills, and added that his experience of performing in sub-continental conditions are being seen as a useful asset by the selectors.

Expressing his views on Zafar, Whitaker said that it was quite unfortunate that he had suffered the injury on the day of his selection , and revealed that he is naturally depressed to have to pull out of the tour, Sport24 reported.

Ansari got injured when he dropped a very difficult catch off Lancashire's Ashwell Prince.

England will play three Tests, four ODIs and three T20s against Pakistan in the upcoming tour, starting from October 13 in the United Arab Emirates.

Revised England Test squad:

Alastair Cook (captain), Moeen Ali , James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Steven Finn , Alex Hales, Samir Patel, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid,Joe Root, Ben Stokes ,James Taylor , Mark Wood.