Pakistan national cricket team red-ball head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed has confirmed that Babar Azam available for the second Test against Bangladesh national cricket team, scheduled to begin on May 16 at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium in Sylhet. The former captain missed the opening Test in Dhaka because of a knee injury as Bangladesh secured a dominant 104-run victory to take a 1-0 lead in the two-match series of the Pakistan tour of Bangladesh 2026.

“Babar Azam is available for the next match,” Sarfaraz told reporters ahead of the second Test.

The Pakistan head coach admitted disappointment over the defeat in Dhaka but expressed confidence in the team’s ability to respond strongly in the series decider. “We are disappointed after the first Test, but the past is the past. We are hopeful. We will bounce back as a team,” he said.

The second and final Test of the series will be played from May 16 to 20.

Pakistan also suffered a setback in the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) standings following the defeat and a slow over-rate penalty imposed by the International Cricket Council (ICC). The penalty significantly affected Pakistan’s position in the WTC table as Shan Masood’s side now have only four points and are placed eighth, just above the West Indies.

Pakistan will now aim to level the series, while Bangladesh will look to seal the two-match contest with another victory in Sylhet.

Pakistan Squad: Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Fazal, Shan Masood(c), Saud Shakeel, Salman Agha, Mohammad Rizwan(w), Noman Ali, Shaheen Afridi, Hasan Ali, Mohammad Abbas, Babar Azam, Amad Butt, Sajid Khan, Khurram Shahzad, Ghazi Ghori