LONDON: Pakistani batsman Babar Azam will miss the remainder of the two-match series against England after fracturing a bone in his left forearm on the second day of the first test at Lord’s on Friday.
The 23-year-old righthander top-scored with 68 to help the tourists reach 350-8, a lead of 166, but retired hurt before the close of play after being struck by a Ben Stokes delivery.
“Normally with these sort of fractures (recovery) varies between four to six weeks.”
With Azam ruled out, Pakistan will look to replace him with someone from the likes of Usman Salahuddin, Fakhar Zaman or Sami Aslam – the other specialist batters in the squad.
Azam’s injury comes across as a huge dent to Pakistan’s ambitions after the solid right-hander showed great promise at the crease. Although he’s yet to stand out in the longer format of the game, his pedigree cannot be doubted largely because of his success against the white-ball where he has averaged 51 and 53 in ODIs and T20Is respectively.
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