KARACHI: Star batter Babar Azam is unavailable for Pakistan’s opening Test against Bangladesh due to an injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board confirmed on Thursday.
According to the cricket board, the 31-year-old suffered an injury to his left knee and thus will not be available for the series opener, scheduled to be played at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka, from May 8 to 12.
The PCB further shared that the team’s medical panel was currently assessing the batter’s condition, with further updates regarding his fitness will be shared in due course.
“Pakistan batter Babar Azam will not be available for the first Test match against Bangladesh due to an injury in his left knee,” the PCB said in a statement.
“The team’s medical panel is currently assessing his condition. Further updates will be shared in due course,” it added.
Babar’s unavailability for the upcoming fixture serves as a major blow for the touring side, as the right-handed batter has been in splendid form, which saw him finish as the leading run-scorer of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) 11, accumulating 588 runs in 11 innings at a remarkable average of 73.02 and a strike-rate of 145.90 with the help of two centuries and three fifties.
Following his blistering century in the Qualifier against three-time champions Islamabad United, which led eventual champions Peshawar Zalmi into the final, the star batter shared that he has started to feel like he is getting back to his best.
Pakistan squad
Shan Masood (c), Abdullah Fazal, Amad Butt, Azan Awais, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
