Babar Azam Ruled Out Of First Test Against England Due To Middle-Finger Injury; Salman Agha To Lead Pakistan

In a major setback for Pakistani cricket fans, Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been ruled out of the first Test against England at Headingley on August 19 due to a right-hand injury. There are reports that Salman Ali Agha will take charge of the team in Babar's absence. Salman will lead the team in a Test match for the first time ever in his career. He has already led Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is.

Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed on Tuesday confirmed Babar's unavailability before the Test. He also announced that Agha would lead the side in the match.

Babar picked up the injury to the middle finger of his right hand during Pakistan's three-day warm-up game against the Professional County Club Select XI in Beckenham. He was already recovering from an earlier injury to the same hand which he suffered during the second Test against the West Indies.

The Pakistan captain had been adviced to rest for the remainder of the warm-up game by the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PCB) medical team. However, he returned to training on Monday (August 17) and took part in some batting practice.

Pakistan pacer Mohammad Abbas had earlier said that a final decision on Babar's availability would be taken before the Test. However, the team management confirmed that he would miss the match on the eve of the game.

The absence of Babar is a major blow for Pakistan ahead of the England Test. Salman Agha has previously captained Pakistan in ODIs and T20Is but will lead the team in a Test match for the first time.

Pakistan Squad For England Test: Babar Azam (Captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (Wicket-Keeper), Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah

Series schedule

First Test: August 19–23, Headingley

Second Test: August 27–31, Lord's

Third Test: September 9–13, Edgbaston