“If you’re not able to stay fit, then other people come in and do well, and Bash certainly did that,” said Leach.

“A lot of it doesn’t need to be explained. I know what the situation was. It was just about me getting back to fitness. Then, from that, you take wickets and build confidence. That’s what I went away and did.”

The spotlight will once again be on Leach, off-spinner Bashir and possibly leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed as a third frontline slow bowler in the England XI for the third Test.

After England won a record-breaking first Test in Multan, Pakistan recycled the same pitch at the same venue and levelled the series in the second Test, with home spinners Noman Ali and Sajid Khan sharing all 20 wickets.

Pakistan captain Shan Masood said he wanted another turning pitch in Rawalpindi and pictures on social media emerged on Sunday of attempts to dry the surface with industrial-sized fans, heaters and windbreaks.

On Monday, the heaters and windbreaks had been removed, though the fans remained.

England are yet to train in Rawalpindi and will get their first look at the pitch on Tuesday.