Pakistan Test captain Babar Azam has been ruled out of the first Test against England. The 31-year-old injured his right hand during the warm-up against Professional County Club Select XI and did not return after retiring hurt for five in the first innings. He engaged in light drill ahead of the opening Test of the three-match series in Leeds, but was eventually ruled out on the eve of the match. In his absence, Salman Agha will lead the side.
Meanwhile, Abdullah Shafique has been drafted in the playing XI. The 26-year-old smacked unbeaten 160 runs in the first innings against West Indies, which helped him earn a spot. With Babar not being present, he has been slotted at number four.
Agha, in the meantime, addressed taking over the leadership baton in such a short time. He added that the situation is not ideal but the team is determined for success.
“Yeah, it was a last minute. Yesterday I found out I’m captaining; Babar was not available, which is very unfortunate. But yeah, we have been playing a lot of red ball cricket. We had a camp before West Indies series a month at home. So, I think we are well prepared here,” Agha said.
England win toss, elect to field
England have won the toss and elected to field first. Newly reappointed captain Joe Root was asked if changing from The Hundred to Test cricket will be tough for the players, but he dismissed the concerns, stating the players are well in form and he wishes to capitalise on that.
“Regardless of format, if you’re playing well and, you know, you’re producing really good scores and taking wickets and winning games for your team, that’s a great place to come into any game of cricket. So I think looking at it from that angle is more important. And yeah, it was exciting to get going again, get back to Test cricket, red ball,” Root said after the toss.
Pakistan (Playing XI): Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Salman Agha (c), Ali Usman, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Abbas
England (Playing XI): Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (c), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (wk), Ollie Robinson, Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue
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