London, Aug 14: After regular Test captain and premier all-rounder Ben Stokes was ruled out due to a hamstring injury, England have named his deputy Ollie Pope as the new skipper for the Sri Lanka series at home.
Reports revealed that top order batter Ollie Pope, who has been England Test vice captain in recent times, will take over the captaincy duties for the Sri Lanka series in Stokes' absence.
Stokes has suffered a tear in his left hamstring during a Hundred match. He is likely to be out of action for the remainder of the English summer, including the upcoming Test series against visitors Sri Lanka.
Interestingly, Sri Lanka have roped in Stokes's former teammate and ex top order English batter Ian Bell as their batting coach for the England tour.
After the three Tests at home against Sri Lanka, England will play three T20Is and five ODIs against arch-rivals Australia.
Since Stokes has been mostly playing red-ball cricket in recent times, so he is expected to tour Pakistan for the three Test series. England will play three Test matches in Multan, Karachi and Rawalpindi, where Stokes is expected to lead the English team, sources added.
