Babar Azam has been ruled out of the first Test against England at Headingley. Pakistan coach Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed the news at the pre-match press conference on Tuesday, one day before the series opener in Leeds.
Salman Ali Agha will captain Pakistan in Babar’s absence. This will be his first time leading the side in Test cricket.
“He is feeling pain, and the medical team is assessing him. Hopefully, he will be available for the second Test.”
Sarfaraz Ahmed, pre-match press conference, August 18, 2026
The second Test begins at Lord’s on August 27. Pakistan’s medical team is targeting that match for Babar’s return.
Big blow for Pakistan!! 🤕
Babar Azam has been ruled out of the Headingley Test against England that starts tomorrow.
Salman Agha to lead Pakistan in Babar’s absence. pic.twitter.com/74YYsNlmf4
— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) August 18, 2026
Babar’s injury traces back to the second Test against West Indies in Port of Spain earlier this month. He was struck on the right hand while batting and played through the match with heavy taping. Pakistan won that game by eight wickets, ending a three-year drought without an overseas Test victory.
The same hand was hit again during the warm-up match against a Professional County Club Select XI in Beckenham on August 14. A rising delivery from England U19 pacer Manny Lumsden struck Babar’s bottom hand while he was on 5. He dropped his bat, received treatment, retired hurt, and did not return.
Babar trained briefly in the nets at Headingley on Monday but did not bat for long. The pain did not settle enough for him to be cleared.
Salman Agha is Pakistan’s regular T20I captain but has never led in a Test match. The decision to hand him the captaincy over Shan Masood, who was recently replaced by Babar as Test captain, came from the team management and the PCB.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been ruled out of the first England Test with a finger injury, with Salman Ali Agha stepping in for captain duties ❌ pic.twitter.com/n3in3waECw
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 18, 2026
Babar’s absence opens two spots in the middle order rather than one. Both Saud Shakeel and Muhammad Awais Zafar can now play. Shakeel missed the West Indies series but scored a century in the Beckenham warm-up, while Zafar made his Test debut in the second match against West Indies.
Shan Masood is expected to return to the XI after recovering from a fractured left index finger sustained during the first West Indies Test. He completed a full training session at Headingley on Monday, and Mohammad Abbas said Masood “looked very good” in practice.
Insider Read
When a batter takes a blow to the same spot twice in three weeks, the problem goes beyond what any scan shows. The bone might heal, the swelling might settle, but the body remembers. The flinch response alters the bottom-hand grip, changes the pull shot commitment, and removes the willingness to get behind a short ball on a seaming deck.
At Headingley, where the Dukes ball moves and pace bowlers hit the surface hard, that hesitation is the difference between playing and surviving. Sitting out was the right call. Playing through a hand injury in Asian conditions is one thing, but doing it here against bowlers who will target exactly that area could turn a first-Test absence into a series-long problem.
Pakistan have won just one of their 10 Tests against England at Headingley. That victory came in 1987. England have won their last six Tests at this ground.
Both teams enter the series in the bottom half of the World Test Championship standings. Pakistan are 8th, while England under Joe Root sit 7th after a 2-1 home series loss to New Zealand.
The three-match series continues at Lord’s (August 27) and finishes at Edgbaston (September 9). Pakistan’s last series win in England was in 1996.
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