Salman Ali Agha to captain Pakistan after Babar Azam ruled out of Headingley Test

Salman Ali Agha will captain Pakistan in the first Test against England at Headingley on August 19 after Babar Azam was ruled out of the match, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed. The announcement came on the eve of the opening Test.

The three-match Test series between England and Pakistan begins on August 19, with the first match scheduled at Headingley in Leeds. England arrive with a changed leadership group after Ben Stokes retired and Brendon McCullum was sacked as Test head coach, with Joe Root beginning a second stint as captain and Marcus Trescothick serving as interim coach in the absence of newly appointed Stephen Fleming. Pakistan come into the tour following a drawn series in the West Indies in which they won the second Test. Pakistan have not won a Test series in England since 1996, and England lost their last home Test series against New Zealand.

Babar Azam was struck on the hand during a warm-up game against County Club XI in Beckenham while batting in the first innings and did not feature in the remaining game. He took part in training sessions ahead of the Leeds Test on Monday, but uncertainty persisted over his availability for the first Test.

The PCB confirmed his exclusion and named an interim leader for the match. “Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first Test match,” head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed on the eve of the Test match. “Salman Agha will be the captain for the first Test.”

Babar is Pakistan’s highest-ranked Test batter; he jumped five spots up to tenth after finishing the test series against West Indies as the leading scorer. Without him the top order looks weaker. There are not many Pakistani batters who have experience of playing in England.

The first Test between England and Pakistan will start at 3:30 PM IST on August 19 at Headingley in Leeds. Salman Ali Agha will lead Pakistan in that opening match in Babar Azam’s absence.