Babar Azam will miss Pakistan’s first Test match against England as he fails to recover from his finger injury in time for the game. Playing against Professional County Club Select XI, Babar hurt his right index finger when a delivery from Hampshire fast bowler Manny Lumsden struck his hand.
Babar could play the Lord’s Test
This, incidentally, was the same hand that picked up an impact during the second Test against West Indies and the latest hit is understood to have worsened it. Babar did not feature in the remainder of the warm-up game as a precautionary measure.
Pakistan’s red-ball coach Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed that Babar will sit out the Headingley Test, set to begin on August 19, on the eve of the game.
“Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first Test match,” Sarfaraz Ahmed said. “Salman Agha will be the captain for the first Test.”
Sarfaraz also confirmed that the right-handed batter has not fractured his finger and is expected to be fit before the Lord’s Test on August 27.
“The medical team is assessing Babar. He has quite a bit of pain in the finger,” Sarfaraz said. “There are still a few days to go before the second Test. Hopefully, he will recover by then.”
Selection headaches for Pakistan
This would be the second Test game Babar will miss this year with an injury, having already been benched for the first Test against Bangladesh with a left knee injury. Babar’s absence means Pakistan have to deal not only with a new captain but also a batting replacement.
Salman Ali Agha, who will stand in for Babar, has never captained the side in a Test game before. Debuting as a captain in a Test game against England in England would hardly make anyone envious.
The batting replacement for Babar would be equally complicated for Pakistan. For starters, they will have to reshuffle the batting order and shift Shan Masood to the fourth position, a spot where he batted in Babar’s absence during the Bangladesh Test. This could open a spot for Abdullah Shafique to come in at first drop, with Imam-ul-Haq and Azan Awais opening the innings.
Pakistan squad for England Tour:
Babar Azam (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah
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