India, Aug. 18 -- Pakistan were dealt a body blow on the eve of the opening Test against England as skipper Babar Azam was ruled out due to an injury. The right-handed batter, who recently entered ICC's top ten Test batters, was unable to recover in time. The 31-year-old was struck on his right hand earlier during Pakistan's warm-up game in Beckenham. It was the same hand that he had previously sustained a blow during the second Test against the West Indies earlier this month.

In Babar's absence, Pakistan will now be led by Salman Ali Agha in the opening Test of the three-match series, which gets underway on Wednesday, August 19, in Headingley, Leeds.

"Pakistan captain Babar Azam is unavailable for the first Test match. Salman Agha will...