Babar Azam's First Series Back Ended 1-1. England in August Is the Real Test.
Pakistan levelled 1-1 in the Caribbean under Babar Azam. Three Tests in England from 19 August, and the full seventeen man squad.
Babar Azam is Pakistan's Test captain again. He replaced Shan Masood as red ball captain for both the West Indies and England tours, announced by the Pakistan Cricket Board at a press conference at Gaddafi Stadium on 6 July 2026, with selectors Aqib Javed, Asad Shafiq and Misbah-ul-Haq present.
The England tour is where that decision gets tested. Three Tests, starting at Headingley in Leeds on 19 August, all of them counting toward the 2025-27 World Test Championship.
The schedule
| Test | Ground | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| First Test | Headingley, Leeds | 19 to 23 August 2026 |
| Second Test | Lord's, London | 27 to 31 August 2026 |
| Third Test | Edgbaston, Birmingham | 9 to 13 September 2026 |
The gap between the second and third Tests is unusually long, nine days, which gives a touring side something it rarely gets in England: time to fix whatever the first two Tests expose.
The squad
Seventeen players, the same group that toured the West Indies with Saud Shakeel added subject to fitness clearance.
Babar Azam (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Ali Usman, Azan Awais, Imam ul Haq, Khurram Shehzad, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Awais Zafar, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood and Ubaid Shah.
The uncapped names are Ali Usman, a left arm spinner, Mohammad Awais Zafar, a right handed batter, and Ubaid Shah, a right arm quick. One note on the count: PCB's announcement is reported as naming three uncapped players, while some coverage lists four by including wicketkeeper batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori. We could not resolve that from PCB's own page, which did not load for us, so we are giving you both versions rather than picking one.
Shan Masood is still in the side
This is the detail that tells you what kind of change this is. Masood lost the captaincy and kept his place as an opener, which is a different thing from being dropped, and it usually signals that the board wanted a different leader rather than a different batting order.
It also puts a former captain in the dressing room under the man who replaced him, on a tour of England, which is either a depth of experience or a complication depending on how the first Test goes.
Why England in August is the hardest assignment
Two things make this tour difficult in a way that has nothing to do with who is captain.
The ball moves. English conditions in August reward seam and swing in a way subcontinental pitches do not, and Pakistan's batting has historically been tested more by lateral movement than by pace.
The attack is built for home. Sajid Khan and the spin options are formidable in Pakistan and less central in Leeds. Mohammad Abbas, who has a long county record in English conditions, becomes considerably more important than he is at home.
Babar's first assignment ended in a win
Pakistan lost the first Test in Tarouba by 90 runs, played 25 to 28 July. They then won the second at the Queen's Park Oval in Port of Spain by eight wickets on 5 August, inside four days, to level the series 1-1.
That is Pakistan's first away Test win in three years, and it is a considerably better start to Babar Azam's second stint as Test captain than the first Test suggested.
The innings that did it belonged to Abdullah Shafique, unbeaten on 160 as Pakistan were bowled out for 387. That made him only the fifth Pakistan batter to pass 150 in a Test in the West Indies, and the first since Majid Khan's 167 in Guyana in 1977, a 49 year wait. He was named player of the match.
Sajid Khan took four wickets dismantling the West Indies top order in the second innings, alongside Ali Usman, and West Indies were bowled out for 117 chasing a first innings deficit of 43.
Two things follow for England. Momentum is real but shallow: a Caribbean win on a surface that rewarded spin says little about Headingley in August. And in World Test Championship terms a drawn series is a modest return from two matches, so England is where this cycle's points actually have to come from.
What to watch
- Whether Saud Shakeel is passed fit. His inclusion is conditional, and the middle order looks different without him.
- How Babar bats as captain. The captaincy has coincided with lean runs for him before, and Pakistan cannot afford both a new leader and a quiet number four.
- Whether the new bowlers travel well. Ali Usman already has wickets in the Caribbean, on a surface that helped him. England in August is a different examination for a left arm spinner.
- The Leeds toss. At Headingley in August it is frequently the most consequential decision of the match.
Following it from Pakistan
Two practical notes for anyone planning to watch. English Test cricket starts at 11am local time, which is 3pm PKT during British Summer Time, so play runs through the Pakistani evening rather than the middle of the night. That is unusually friendly compared with an Australian or Caribbean tour.
On rights, do not assume last season's arrangement carries over. Broadcast and streaming deals for overseas tours are negotiated separately from home series and from the league, and they change more often than viewers expect. We set out how to check what is actually carrying a match, and which streams are worth avoiding, in the guide to watching cricket legally in Pakistan.
The domestic calendar sits around this too. Our piece on the PSL schedule window explains why Pakistan's international commitments and the league keep colliding for the same weeks of the year, and a three Test tour of England running into September is exactly the kind of block that forces those decisions.
Questions readers are asking
Who is Pakistan's Test captain in 2026?
Babar Azam. He replaced Shan Masood as red ball captain for the West Indies and England tours, announced by the PCB on 6 July 2026.
When does Pakistan's tour of England start?
The first Test begins at Headingley, Leeds, on 19 August 2026 and runs to 23 August.
What is Pakistan's full England Test schedule?
Headingley 19 to 23 August, Lord's 27 to 31 August, and Edgbaston 9 to 13 September 2026.
Who won the Pakistan West Indies Test series?
Neither side. West Indies won the first Test in Tarouba by 90 runs and Pakistan won the second at Port of Spain by eight wickets on 5 August, so the two match series finished 1-1.
Is Shan Masood still in the squad?
Yes. He lost the captaincy but retained his place in the seventeen man squad.
Who are the uncapped players?
Ali Usman, Mohammad Awais Zafar and Ubaid Shah are the uncapped names in PCB's announcement as reported. Some coverage also counts wicketkeeper batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori as uncapped.
Does this series count for the World Test Championship?
Yes. All three Tests form part of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle.
About the author
Author
Shahid joined us in 2024 as an author. He is a senior contributor to Pakistan's leading technology websites. He writes detailed articles, mostly covering his expertise in the latest tech, mobiles, apps, gadgets, and step-by-step guides. His ideology is to help people understand the latest trends and explain complex methods through very easy-to-understand guides.
