Babar Azam to Miss First Bangladesh Test After Suffering Knee Injury

Pakistan have suffered a major setback ahead of the Bangladesh test series, as Babar Azam has been ruled out of the first Test due to injury, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed on Thursday.

The board said the 31-year-old hurt his left knee and will not be available for the opening Test, which is set to take place at the Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium from May 8 to 12.

The PCB also stated that the team’s medical staff is currently monitoring Babar’s condition, while more updates about his fitness will be shared later.

"Pakistan batter Babar Azam will not be available for the first Test match against Bangladesh due to a injury in left knee," said the PCB statement.

"The team's medical panel is currently assessing his condition. Further updates will be shared in due course," added the PCB statement.

Babar Azam joined the Pakistan squad in Bangladesh on Monday shortly after Peshawar Zalmi’s PSL title win. He trained with the team for the next two days without any visible problem, but complained of pain in his left knee on Thursday morning. Following an assessment, the team’s medical panel decided to keep him out of the opening Test.

Babar has remained a regular member of Pakistan’s Test side for almost the last 10 years. Although he was left out for two Tests against England in late 2024, he returned to the team shortly after.

The absence of Babar Azam in the first test is a big setback for Pakistan, especially because the right-handed batter was in excellent form recently. He ended PSL 11 as the tournament’s highest run-scorer after making 588 runs in 11 innings at an average of 73.02 and a strike-rate of 145.90, including two centuries and three half-centuries.

After scoring a brilliant hundred against Islamabad United in the Qualifier, which helped eventual champions Peshawar Zalmi reach the final, Babar said he was starting to feel that his best form was returning.

Pakistan Squad for first Test Against Bangladesh

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.