Pakistan without captain Babar Azam for first Test against England

Babar was struck on the hand while batting during a practice match against a County Championship XI and has been unable to recover sufficiently ahead of the opening Test of the three-match series.

Pakistan head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed has confirmed that T20I skipper Salman Agha will lead the side in the first Test, with Babar hoping to be fit for the second game of the series.

"Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first Test match," Pakistan coach Sarfaraz told reporters. "Salman Agha will be the captain for the first Test.

"The medical team is assessing Babar. He has quite a bit of pain in the finger. There are still a few days to go before the second Test. Hopefully, he will recover by then."

On a more positive note, Shan Masood has fully recovered from a finger fracture of his own after being struck on the hand in the previous Test series against West Indies. 

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