Babar Azam Ruled Out Of 1st Test Vs England, New Captain Named

Babar Azam ruled out of the first Test vs England [Source: AFP]

In a recent and shocking development, Babar Azam has been ruled out of the first Test against England, confirms head coach, Sarfaraz Ahmed. Babar is set to miss the first Test due to the injury he suffered during Pakistan's warm-up match against the Professional County Club Select XI in Beckenham a few days ago. 

In place of Babar Azam, a new captain has also been announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board, who will oversee the proceedings of the first Test.

Who replaced Babar Azam as Pakistan's Test Captain?

In place of Babar, Salman Agha will captain the Pakistan Test side for the first Test against England at Leeds on August 19. This development has been confirmed by Sarfaraz Ahmed, who confirmed Salman Agha's captaincy. This will be Agha's first stint as Pakistan Test captain after leading the T20I side.

Meanwhile, Babar, who struggled during the practice match after receiving a blow from U19 English pacer was already doubtful for the series opener since Monday. 

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Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Abbas also shared that the medical team and the selection committee checked on the cricketer and said that medical advice would be needed before he could be considered for the playing XI. 

Babar Azam's nasty blow, hence, remains critical for a team that lost their captain early and also has a woeful record on English soil. However, with Salman Agha's fresh captaincy stint, the Men in Green will be looking to turn things around.

Will Babar play the 2nd Test vs England?

The 2nd Test against England is set to be played on August 27, which leaves almost nine days for the Pakistan skipper to recover from his injury that he has been nursing since the West Indies Test series. 

Babar had an impact injury to his right hand while playing the second Test against the West Indies. Although impact injuries do not linger for long, the concern is that he has been hit in the same hand while playing against PCC XI in the warm-up match.

Although the nature of the injury hasn't been disclosed by the PCB, Babar retired hurt from the PCC XI game, and it was stated to be a ‘precautionary measure’ by the board. Nevertheless, with several days in between the second Test, it can be understood that Babar Azam will be given complete rest as and would likely make a comeback at Lord’s.

Pakistan Will Look To Regroup Under New Captain

After Babar was ruled out of the PCC XI match, it created a captaincy vacuum for the team, which was quickly filled by Salman Agha. Babar took over the captaincy from Shan Masood at the start of the series against the West Indies. 

Now, after a short period of regaining familiarity with everyone in the camp, the Green Brigade will once again regroup with a fresh captain at the helm. 

Notably, Salman Agha's debut as Test captain is set to be a special one, as the side will be aiming for a series win on English soil for the first time since 1996.

Moreover, Pakistan won the PCC XI match, with Saud Shakeel's heroics leading the team to a seven-wicket win at Headingley and an unofficial first Test win for Salman Agha. That should provide some confidence to the new skipper, which could help the team do something special if they don't sabotage themselves. 

Although Salman Agha has been named Test captain for the first match, it will be interesting to see if Salman continues to lead the side for all three matches of the series and can engineer an exceptional upset.

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