Pakistan captain Babar Azam’s participation in the first Test against England is in serious doubt as he continues to recover from a finger injury.
Babar Azam suffered an impact injury to his right hand while batting in Pakistan’s second Test against the West Indies. He was then struck on the same hand during Pakistan’s warm-up match against the Professional County Club Select XI in Beckenham.
The batter retired hurt after the blow and did not return to the match, with the Pakistan Cricket Board describing the decision as a precautionary measure.
Pakistan reached Leeds on Sunday and held its first training session at Headingley on Monday. Babar batted briefly in the nets but did not spend much time there.
Pakistan fast bowler Mohammad Abbas said the final decision on Babar’s availability would be taken on match day after considering medical advice.
What happened
“He did a few throwdowns and some batting practice today. But we’ll have to follow medical advice for it,” Abbas said.
If Babar is ruled out, Saud Shakeel and Awais Zafar are likely to feature in Pakistan’s middle order. Shakeel also scored a century in the warm-up match.
Meanwhile, Pakistan received a more positive update on captain Shan Masood. This person has been recovering from a fractured finger. Masood batted throughout the net session and “looked very good,” according to Abbas.
Babar took over as Test captain from Masood at the start of the West Indies series. Although he has not yet captained Pakistan in Test cricket, if both players are unavailable, Salman Agha could face an additional leadership responsibility.
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