Babar Azam to miss first Test against England, confirms Pakistan coach

Pakistan captain Babar Azam plays a shot during second Test against West Indies in Trinidad on August 4, 2026. — PCBBabar suffered a finger injury during practice.Sarfaraz hopes Babar returns for second Test.Second Test begins at Lord’s on August 27. Pakistan captain and star batter Babar Azam will miss the opening Test of the three-match away series against England, set to commence on Wednesday at Leeds, head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed on Tuesday. Salman Ali Agha will captain the national side in the first Test in the absence of Babar, Ahmed said in a statement. Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Sarfaraz said Babar is being assessed by the medical team and he is currently experiencing pain. “He is feeling pain, and the medical team is assessing him. Hopefully, he will be available for the second Test,” Sarfaraz said. The development comes after Babar sustained a finger 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 bowled a sharp delivery that struck Babar on the finger. He immediately appeared to be in pain, dropped his bat and received attention from the medical staff before walking off the field after scoring five runs from 17 deliveries. Notably, the blow marked the second time in a month Babar had been struck on the hand, following a similar incident during Pakistan's Test series against the West Indies. Later, the PCB shared that the star batter, as a precautionary measure, has been advised by its medical team to miss the remainder of the practice game, which precedes their three-match away series against England, slated to commence on August 19. For the unversed, the Test series, which is Pakistan's first in England since 2020, will get underway on August 19, with the opening fixture scheduled to be played at Headingley in Leeds until August 23. The iconic Lord's Cricket Ground will host the subsequent fixture from August 27 to 31, while the third Test will be played at Birmingham's Edgbaston from September 9 to 13. Pakistan squad for England Test seriesBabar Azam (c), Aamir Jamal, Ali Usman, Abdullah Shafique, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel* (subject to fitness), Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.