Now Reading: Babar Azam hurt in warm-up, doubts over England Test
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Babar Azam hurt in warm-up, doubts over England Test
Pakistan captain Babar Azam retired hurt on five after being hit on the right hand during the second day of a three-day warm-up match against a Professional County Club Select XI in…
The Story in Brief
Pakistan captain Babar Azam retired hurt on five after being hit on the right hand during the second day of a three-day warm-up match against a Professional County Club Select XI in England. A Pakistan spokesman said Babar will take no further part in the fixture but will join the team's practice session on Monday at Headingley Cricket Ground.
The first of a three-Test series against England begins at Headingley on Wednesday. Babar had led Pakistan to a 1-1 draw in a two-match away series against the West Indies earlier this month. In the warm-up, Pakistan made 238 in reply to the Select XI's 305, with England off-spinner Shoaib Bashir taking 4-76.
The Indian Opinion
Social media is already buzzing with doomsday takes about Pakistan's Test chances if Babar is ruled out. The team did draw a series in the West Indies without him firing, and the middle order has depth. The real test is Wednesday's toss: if Babar bats or is replaced, that will settle the nerves. Until then, the chatter is just noise.
Sources (2): sports.ndtv.com, sports.ndtv.com (2)
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
