Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been ruled out of the opening Test of the three-match away series against England due to a finger injury, with Salman Ali Agha set to lead the side in his absence.
The first Test is scheduled to be played at Headingley from August 19 to 23.
Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed the development, saying Babar remains under assessment by the Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) medical team.
“Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first Test match. Salman Agha will be the captain for the first Test,” Ahmed said.
He added that Babar is still experiencing considerable pain in his finger but expressed hope that the 31-year-old will recover in time for the second Test at Lord’s from August 27 to 31.
“The medical team is assessing Babar. He has quite a bit of pain in the finger. There are still a few days to go before the second Test. Hopefully, he will recover by then,” Ahmed said.
Babar suffered the injury during Pakistan’s three-day practice match against the Professional County Club (PCC) Select XI in Beckenham last week.
The incident occurred on the final delivery of the 39th over when pacer Manny Lumsden struck Babar on the finger with a sharp delivery.
The Pakistan captain immediately dropped his bat and received medical attention before leaving the field after scoring five runs from 17 deliveries.
The PCB later confirmed that its medical team had advised Babar to take no further part in the practice match as a precautionary measure.
It was the second time in a month that Babar had been struck on the hand, following a similar incident during Pakistan’s Test series against the West Indies.
Babar had earlier captained Pakistan to a drought-ending away Test victory earlier this month.
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