Babar Azam has been ruled out of Pakistan’s opening Test against Bangladeshd ue to a left knee injury, dealing a significant blow to the visitors ahead of the series opener in Dhaka.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed that Babar complained of discomfort in his left knee on Thursday morning (7), with the team’s medical panel deciding to withdraw him from the first Test starting Friday (8) at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium.
The PCB added that his condition is being monitored closely but stopped short of confirming whether he will miss the remainder of the series.
The injury comes at a difficult time for Pakistan, especially after Babar rediscovered top form during the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL) season. The former captain finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer and guided Peshawar Zalmi to the PSL title.
Babar had trained normally with the squad after arriving in Bangladesh earlier this week following the PSL final victory. However, his sudden absence now leaves Pakistan with a major middle-order gap ahead of a crucial away Test assignment in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2025–27 cycle.
Pakistan may now turn to uncapped options such as Azam Awais or Abdullah Fazal to strengthen the batting lineup, while senior batters like Mohammad Rizwan and Saud Shakeel could be asked to move up the order.
The series carries extra significance for Pakistan after their disappointing 2-0 home Test series defeat to Bangladesh during the previous meeting between the sides.
