Babar Azam ruled out of England vs Pakistan 1st Test at Headingley: Reason for absence and replacement captain named

Babar Azam ruled out of England vs Pakistan 1st Test at Headingley: Reason for absence and replacement captain named originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Babar Azam has been ruled out of the opening Test against England at Headingley due to a right-hand injury.

Salman Agha will captain Pakistan in his place, taking charge of a Test side for the first time.

Shan Masood has fully recovered from his own finger injury and is set to slot back into the top order.

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Babar Azam ruled out of England vs Pakistan 1st Test at Headingley

Pakistan will go into the first Test against England at Headingley without their captain, with Babar Azam sidelined by a right-hand injury he has been unable to shake off since being struck during the tourists' warm-up fixture in Beckenham. It's the same hand that took a blow during the second Test against West Indies earlier this month.

Head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed the news, with Salman Agha taking over the captaincy for the match. There's no fracture involved, and Sarfaraz was careful to frame the issue as being confined to the first Test rather than a longer-term absence. "There are still a few days to go before the second Test," he said, adding that the medical team remained hopeful Babar could recover in time.

Pakistan's optimism around Babar's fitness had been fading in the days leading into the Test. He retired hurt after being struck in the warm-up game and took no further part in that contest, with Agha filling in as captain even then.

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MORE: Babar Azam injury: Availability and latest update on Pakistan captain

Azam had finally looked to be back in form

Losing Babar is a significant blow given the form he had been building. He was the leading run-scorer for Pakistan on the tour of West Indies, posting two half-centuries and closing out the second Test with a flourish of big hitting with a strong return just after being handed the captaincy.

Agha himself arrives at the role with a mixed recent record. While he's a fixture across all three formats for Pakistan and already leads the T20I side, his batting in the West Indies series was underwhelming, with just 20 runs from three innings.

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MORE: 'We pull him down': Azhar Mahmood slams treatment of Babar Azam & cites 'lack of respect' for the Pakistan captain

Babar Azam's loss leaves Pakistan in a pickle

Babar's absence leaves Pakistan needing to rework their batting order. Masood is expected to return to the top of the order, with Saud Shakeel occupying a middle-order slot, and there's a possibility the team turns to Aamer Jamal to add depth to the tail. That approach was tried during the first Test against West Indies, though Jamal made little impact with either bat or ball.

Despite the setback, Sarfaraz struck an upbeat note about the squad's preparation, pointing to the warm-up match as evidence the group had covered what it needed to with both bat and ball heading into the series.

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Masood, meanwhile, arrives fully fit after his own recent injury scare. He was struck on the hand by Jayden Seales during the first Test against West Indies last month, an issue that ruled him out of the second Test and kept him out of the Beckenham warm-up game as well.

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