Babar Azam to Miss First Test Against Bangladesh Due to Knee Injury

Mirpur. Pakistan team's main batsman Babar Azam will miss the first Test match against Bangladesh. Due to an injury to his left knee, he will not be able to take the field in the important match starting Friday in Mirpur.

According to a statement issued by the team management, Babar's health condition is being monitored by the medical panel, however, it has not been disclosed whether he will be out of the series or not.

This injury has proven to be a big setback for Babar, who was in excellent form recently, leading Peshawar Zalmi to the title in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).

Babar, who was the highest run-scorer of the PSL season, arrived in Bangladesh on Monday, just a few hours after winning the final. After practicing normally for two days, he suddenly felt pain in his left knee on Thursday morning, leading the medical team to decide not to play him in the first Test.

Babar, who was out of the team for two Tests against England towards the end of 2024, returned to the team immediately after. This will be the first time he misses an away Test match since January 2021.

His absence has created a big void in Pakistan's middle order, forcing the team to debut a new player.

In the team's top order, Azam Owais or Abdullah Fazal could take a place alongside Imam-ul-Haq and Shan Masood. Both these players have not played Test cricket for Pakistan before.

In Babar's absence, the team may place one of these two new players in the top four or promote Mohammad Rizwan or Saud Shakeel to the top order by playing seam-bowling all-rounder Aamer Jamal in the lower order.

This is Pakistan's first away Test series in the current cycle of the World Test Championship. Previously, Pakistan played two Tests against South Africa on home soil, winning one and losing one.

In their last encounter against Bangladesh, Pakistan suffered a 2-0 clean sweep defeat on their home ground.