Salman Ali Agha will lead Pakistan in the first Test at Headingley as Babar Azam misses out through injury, while Joe Root begins his second stint as England captain.
The high-octane Test series between England and Pakistan gets underway on August 19 at Headingley in Leeds, with the opening match scheduled to begin at 3:30 PM IST. The five-day fixture, running from August 19 to 23, marks the beginning of Joe Root's second stint as England Test captain following the retirement of Ben Stokes.
Pakistan face a major setback as Babar Azam has been ruled out of the opening Test after sustaining a right-hand injury during a warm-up game. In his absence, Salman Ali Agha will lead the visiting side as Pakistan search for a long-awaited Test victory on English soil amid a period of team transition.
Headingley is set to offer seam-friendly conditions, featuring a green deck with pace and bounce under overcast skies. Temperatures are expected to hover between 19 and 21°C with average humidity around 50-60 percent. With batting last projected to be difficult, both teams may look to bat first. Historically, the two sides have met 92 times in Test cricket, with England winning 30 matches, Pakistan winning 23, and 39 games ending in a draw.
England Playing XI: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jordan Cox, Joe Root (C), Harry Brook, Dan Lawrence, Jamie Smith (WK), Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Jofra Archer, Shoaib Bashir.
Pakistan Playing XI: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood, Awais Zafar, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Salman Ali Agha (C), Aamir Jamal, Sajid Khan, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali.
Reporting sourced from Khel Now. Photo courtesy Khel Now.