Ahead of the three-match series, it was revealed that Stokes would opt out of the series opener as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury, which saw him miss the home Tests in the English summer. Curran felt Stokes' absence for the Multan Test could have been a perfect occasion for his Test comeback, having last played in whites in 2021, but he wasn't considered. Curran told talkSPORT, "I'll be totally honest, when Stokesy got injured, I did probably think that was my way back into the Test team. A couple of weeks back, I had a meeting with Keysy [Rob Key, director of cricket] just to get a bit of understanding of where the group is, and how I see myself getting back into the Test side." "Being a young player who experienced Test cricket so young, I feel like I had an advantage to know what it's about, to know what winning a Test match is, and the grind and the grit and attitude that you need so I was a little bit gutted. Selection is selection, but I thought that was my way back into the side at the minute," Curran further added.  With no Stokes, OIlie Pope continues to lead the Test side. Pope-led England have struggled against Shan Masood's Pakistan as the home side have crossed the 400-run mark and are eyeing over 500 with four more wickets left (at the time of publishing the report). For Curran, he will shift his focus to the white-ball formats with him expected to play a key role in Jos Buttler-led side's upcoming tour of West Indies, featuring three ODIs and five T20Is.