Pakistan captain Babar Azam has been ruled out of the first Test against England in Headingley with a right hand injury. Salman Agha will be the stand-in skipper in Babar’s absence.

"Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first Test match," head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed confirmed on the eve of the Test match. "Salman Agha will be the captain for the first Test."

Babar copped an injury on his right hand during the three-day warm-up against Professional County Club Select XI in Beckenham. He had already been recovering from an impact injury that he sustained on the same hand during the second Test against the West Indies recently.

Mohammad Abbas, the pacer, had told the media that a call on Babar’s availability for the Leeds Test would be made on the first morning, but the head coach confirmed his unavailability on the eve of the match itself.

Babar batted during the training session on Monday (August 17) after the PCB medical team had advised him rest from the remainder of the practice game. Abbas later said: "He did a few throwdowns and some batting practice today. But we'll have to follow medical advice for it."

Agha has led Pakistan in T20Is and ODIs, but is yet to lead them in Tests.