There is significant doubt over the participation of Babar Azam in the opening Test match between England and Pakistan at Headingley.
Azam sustained an injury to his right hand against the West Indies at the beginning of the month and received another blow to his finger in last week's warm-up game against the Professional County Club Select XI in Beckenham.
The 31-year-old batter retired hurt after the blow and took no further part in the match, leaving the pitch on 5*.
Azam trained with the Pakistan squad on Monday, however, but didn't spend too long in the nets and staff will now make a last minute decision over his participation in the first Test.
"Whether he plays or not will be a decision taken on match day," Pakistan opening bowler Mohammad Abbas told reporters during Monday's press conference.
"He did a few throwdowns and some batting practice today. But we'll have to follow medical advice for it."
Azam is one of Pakistan's greatest batters of the modern era and recently took back captaincy responsibilities from Shan Masood. It's Azam's second stint as skipper after he stepped back from the role -- despite being the team's the most successful all-format captain since Imran Khan -- in 2023.
Whilst his record in Test matches -- 4,674 runs at 43.68 -- puts him alongside some of Pakistan's greats, it is his ODI capabilities that really saw him rise to prominence.
He reached 5,000 runs in the format faster than any other player in the history of the game and his career average of 53.43 places him ninth on the all-time list.
Azam's return to captaincy didn't quite go to plan, falling to defeat against the West Indies in his first match back at the helm. However, he did lead his side to victory in the second Test, scoring 88 & 24* as Pakistan recorded a resounding eight-wicket success.
The visiting side are 3/1 to take the opening Test against England and an even bigger 9/2 price to win the three-match series.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.
