Babar Azam ruled out of ENG vs PAK 1st Test as Pakistan name Salman Agha new captain

On the eve of their opening Test of the third-match series against England at Leeds, Pakistan have faced a massive blow as their captain and veteran batter, Babar Azam, has been ruled out of the contest due to the finger injury that he picked up the first time in the second Test against West Indies and later during the three-day warm-up clash in Kent. 

Over the last few days, Pakistan had become increasingly pessimistic about Babar’s chances of getting into the XI of the first Test. He retired hurt in Beckenham and didn’t take the field for the remainder of the contest.

Babar ruled out: Hand injury forces Pakistan captain out of the Headingley Test

In Babar Azam’s absence, Salman Ali Agha will lead the side for the Leeds Test, as it has been confirmed by the coach, Sarfaraz Ahmed, during the press conference. Agha will be under pressure as he will need to fill some big shoes with the responsibility.

“Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first Test match. 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.” Sarfaraz informed in the presser.

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Agha has never taken charge of the Pakistan Test side before. He is one of the regular starters of the side across the three formats of the game. The current T20I captain of the side had a poor trip to the West Indies, where he scored 20 runs in three innings.

Pakistan's probable XI without Babar: Shakeel and Zafar set for middle-order recall

Sarfaraz reckoned that Babar’s absence gave them a selection headache around how they would deal with the batting line-up. Shan Masood will slot into the top order and Saud Shakeel in the middle; there could be a chance of having Aamer Jamal in the side to shorten their long tail.

Masood, meanwhile, has regained full fitness from his own finger fracture. He was struck on the hand in the first Test of the Caribbean trip by Jayden Seales and went on to miss the second Test.

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Babar’s absence will be a massive blow for the Pakistan side, given he was the leading run-getter of the series against the West Indies when he smashed two fifties and ended the second game with two superb sixes. 

Pakistan's probable XI vs England in first Leeds Test: