Daily Times

LAHORE: Middle-order batsman Usman Salahuddin will replace injured Babar Azam for the second Test between England and Pakistan starting on June 1 (today) at Leed’s. The 27-year old Salahuddin, who has made two ODI appearances for Pakistan in the past, was named in the squad for England tour after an impressive stint in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. He averages 46.53 in the 99 first-class matches he has played. Salahuddin also scored 69 in Pakistan’s warm-up match against Leicestershire, and is now all set for his Test debut at Leed’s. Azam was ruled out of the remainder of the Test series against England after his medical scans at the end of day two of Lord’s Test revealed a fracture on his left forearm. According to team physiotherapist Cliffe Deacon, the batsman sustained a fracture just above the wrist – one of the two bones in the forearm called the ulna. He is expected to be out of action for at least four to six weeks. Pakistan head into the second Test 1-0 up, after beating England by nine wickets in the first Test.

Published in Daily Times, June 1^st 2018.