Babar out of first Test on England tour, uncertainty over Pakistan captaincy

Mumbai, Aug 17 (IANS) Pakistan suffered a huge setback before the start of their Test series with England and will be without their skipper Babar Azam, who suffered an injury to his hand, in the first Test starting in Leeds on Wednesday.

Babar’s unavailability for the first Test has left a question mark on who will captain the side, Telecom Asia Sport said in a news report on Monday.

“Babar was hit on his right hand by a delivery from pacer Manny Lumsden while batting against a Professional County Club Select XI tour match on Saturday,” a source told www.telecomasia.net.

He retired hurt for five runs as a precautionary measure, raising doubts for the upcoming Test series opener against England. Babar has only batted remotely with throwdowns and not in the nets.

“Babar has complained of pain in the hand. So it’s highly unlikely that he will take the field on Wednesday. In his absence, either Shan Masood or Salman Agha will captain the side, but a final decision will be taken only by Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Mohsin Naqvi,” the source was quoted as saying in the report.

Agha is Pakistan’s T20I captain but has no experience of leading the team in the longer format, so it is likely that Masood will get the nod, the report said.

History and England’s recent form at Headingley are both against Pakistan, who have only won one of their ten Tests against the hosts with six defeats.

Pakistan had also played one Test at this ground against Australia, winning that match in 2010.

Hosts England have won the last six Tests at the ground, with their last defeat at this venue being against the West Indies in 2017, the report said.

–IANS

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