Left Knee Injury Forces Babar to Miss Bangladesh Test

PCB statement: “Pakistan batter Babar Azam will not be available for the first Test match against Bangladesh due to a injury in left knee. ”Medical update: Team medical panel currently assessing his condition. Further updates to follow. 1st Test: May 8-12, 2026 at Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium, Dhaka 2nd Test: May 16-20, 2026 at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium. WTC stakes: Pakistan 5th with 50% win ratio. Bangladesh 8th with 16.67%. The injury is a significant blow to Pakistan just as Babar appeared to have hit form, albeit in a different format. He was the leading run-scorer in the recently concluded Pakistan Super League (PSL), where he led his team, Peshawar Zalmi, to the title, having lost just one match along the way. Babar arrived in Bangladesh on Monday, just hours after Zalmi's PSL final win. He trained for two days with the side without apparent discomfort, but woke up with pain in his left knee on Thursday morning, with the medical team opting to take him out of contention for the first Test. Huge blow: Babar is “backbone of their batting order. ”Squad: Shan Masood captains. 4 uncapped players in 16-man squad: Abdullah Fazal, Azan Awais, Amad Butt, Ghazi Ghori. Recent form: Babar led Peshawar Zalmi to PSL championship before injury. Was also named in Pakistan’s T20 World Cup squad announced recently. Bottom line: Babar Azam misses the Dhaka Test with a left knee injury, weakening Pakistan’s batting for a crucial WTC fixture. Medical team monitoring, no timeline yet for 2nd Test return. This is Pakistan's first away Test series of the current World Test Championship cycle. They have played two Tests so far in a home series against South Africa, winning one and losing the other. The last time Pakistan and Bangladesh played a Test series, Pakistan were blanked 2-0 at home.