Sam Curran has expressed his desire to step into the void left by Ben Stokes following his unexpected retirement from Test cricket. While Curran is eager for the opportunity, he emphasizes the importance of not pressuring himself as he aims for a return to the Test arena.

With Stokes' departure, England faces a critical challenge in selecting a new captain and balancing their squad for the upcoming series against Pakistan in August. Curran, who last played in a Test match in 2021, has primarily featured in white-ball formats since then. As a seam-bowling all-rounder, he could be a natural fit to replace Stokes.

In an interview with BBC Sport, Curran stated:

"Yeah, of course. But it's one of those things where I just want to try to perform my best... playing for England is amazing and I'm a competitive guy."

The absence of Stokes became evident during the second Test against New Zealand, where England opted for an extra specialist batter, omitting spinner Shoaib Bashir and fielding four frontline seamers. This strategy may be necessary again without Stokes, yet it risks an unbalanced team composition.

Potential replacements are already in the mix:

• Rehan Ahmed, a spin-bowling all-rounder, has been part of England's squads this summer.
• James Coles was recently called up to the England one-day squad for the first time.

Curran acknowledged the speculation surrounding Stokes' replacement, noting the inherent pressure:

"There's no doubt, with Ben Stokes retiring there will be hype around it. At the same time, I'm sure whoever comes in will do their best..."

He added that his main focus remains on contributing to the team's success, stating, "Whatever happens over the next few weeks, my main thing is to try to contribute and win games for England."