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The Pakistan National Cricket Team will be up against the England National Cricket Team for a three-match Test series. Ahead of the first game, which is scheduled to start on Wednesday at Headingley in Leeds, there is some bad news coming from the Pakistan camp as their recently appointed Test captain, Babar Azam, has been ruled out.
Babar Azam was re-appointed as the Test captain after the Men in Green had experienced a difficult phase, winning 4 and losing 12 of their 16 total matches under the leadership of Shan Masood. They were winless away from home for three long years, which was broken by Babar as his side won the second Test match against the West Indies National Cricket Team.
Babar Azam ruled out of 1st Test
Babar Azam was ruled out of the first Test due to a hand injury he sustained in the right hand while batting in the second Test against the West Indies. He was heavily taped; however, in the same hand, the ball struck again during the warm-up match against the Professional County Club Select XI in Beckenham.
He went off retired hurt and did not feature in the remainder of the match. The Pakistan National Cricket Team medical staff was taking care of him, with the confirmed news of the Test captain ruling out coming on Tuesday evening from the team’s coach, Sarfaraz Ahmed. This is a massive blow for the side who just found momentum.
Sarfaraz Ahmed confirms Babar Azam to be available from 2nd Test
Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Sarfaraz said Babar is being assessed by the medical team, and he is currently experiencing pain and is not fit for the first game, and will be available from the second Test match at Lord’s.
“He is feeling pain, and the medical team is assessing him. Hopefully, he will be available for the second Test,” Sarfaraz said.
Can Salman Ali Agha lead Pakistan in Test?
Salman Ali Agha will be leading the side in the first game in the absence of the 31-year-old batter. This would be the first time that the T20I captain of the Men in Green will be leading the side in the oldest format of the game. He will have a challenge in front of him of leading the side for the first time, and that too in England.
Salman Ali Agha has the experience of leading the side in the white-ball format in the shortest format of the game, as he is also the deputy of Shaheen Shah Afridi, who is the leader for the ODI format. In T20Is has guided the team to 31 wins out of 50 T20I matches as captain, maintaining a win percentage of 62%.
Babar Azam recently created history during the second Test match against the Windies as he became the third captain to lead the Men in Green in 150 Test matches across formats, with only Imran Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq in front of him. With such experience, his leadership quality will surely be missed as the Asian side plays its first Test after 6 years on English soil.
