The Pakistan Cricket Team is touring England for a three-match Test series, with the first match scheduled for August 19, 2026. The ENG vs PAK Test series will mark the beginning of England's new coaching setup, along with Joe Root returning as Test skipper. The Pakistan Cricket Team is also coming off a decent Test series against the West Indies and will be looking to put up a great fight in this series and improve their rankings on the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 points table.
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Why is Babar Azam Not Playing Today in ENG vs PAK 1st Test? Here's Pakistan New Captain
-1787120537817.webp "Babar Azam")
However, during the toss of the 1st Test, fans noticed that the stand-in Pakistan captain came for the coin toss, not Babar Azam, leaving them curious about the reason for his absence from the ENG vs PAK 1st Test. Let's find out the reason behind it.
Why is Babar Azam Not Playing Today in ENG vs PAK 1st Test?
Babar Azam, who is one of the best Pakistani cricketers, is missing from the ENG vs PAK 1st Test after sustaining an injury in a warm-up match. As per Babar Azam injury update, he has been ruled out of the series opener after getting hit on his right hand in Beckenham, which was the very same hand he was struck in the second match against West Indies.
Babar Azam replacement as Pakistani skipper will be Salman Ali Agha, who will be leading the Test team for the very first time. It will be interesting to see how Agha will begin this series after having a poor run in the West Indies series. Here is the statement by Pakistan coach Sarfaraz Ahmed,
Our practice match went really good. We covered all our bases in terms of preparation as a bowling and batting unit both and also won that warm-up game. The spirits are quite high and I have a belief in the whole team that we will do well here.
As team management, we are confident regarding Salman leading Pakistan in this Test match. He is one of those players who start feeling confident after getting the leadership. As for Babar, it is quite unfortunate that he was hit on (the) hand. Hopefully, he will be back for the second match.
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Recent Performance of Babar Azam in Test Cricket
The right-hand batter, Babar Azam, has got his form back in Test cricket since he was reappointed as Test captain. He has been performing well in away tours to Bangladesh and the West Indies, where he showed intent with his batting. The consistency in scoring a good amount of runs has made him enter the Top 10 ICC Test batting rankings. Babar's good form and experience will be missed by the Pakistani side in the first Test match after sustaining an injury.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Is Babar Azam Playing ENG vs PAK 1st Test?
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Is Babar Azam Playing ENG vs PAK 1st Test?
Babar Azam is not playing in the ENG vs PAK 1st Test after being ruled out due to an injury.
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