On Friday, August 14, Pakistan captain Babar Azam suffered a blow to his hand while plying his trade for his national team in a three-day warm-up fixture against Professional County Club Select XI
While Babar was batting on five runs, he was struck on his bottom hand by a rising delivery from England U19 bowler Manny Lumsden. He was immediately seen in discomfort and didn’t come out to bat.
“Following an assessment by the team doctor and taking precautionary measures, Babar has been advised to rest from the remainder of the practice match. Babar will participate in the Pakistan team’s practice session on Monday, August 17, at Headingley Cricket Ground,” the PCB media release read.
For the unversed, under his leadership, Pakistan levelled their most recent Test series against West Indies 1-1 away from home, putting an end to their eight consecutive overseas defeats in the second Test.
Pakistan will initiate their three-match Test series against England from Wednesday, August 19, which will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27. England are in seventh place with a point percentage of 24.36, whereas Pakistan are eighth with a point percentage of 22.22.
Pakistan Test squad: Babar Azam (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan, Muhammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah
England Test squad: Joe Root (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Sam Cook, Jordan Cox, Ben Duckett, Matthew Fisher, Emilio Gay, Dan Lawrence, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Jamie Smith, Josh Tongue.
England vs Pakistan Test series schedule:
First Test: August 19–23, Headingley
Second Test: August 27–31, Lord’s
Third Test: September 9–13, Edgbaston
