England recall Dawid Malan for third Test against India
England have recalled Dawid Malan for the third Test against India, dropping out-of-form opener Dominic Sibley. Malan has been included in the 15-man squad for the third Test to be played at Headingley. Besides Sibley, fellow batter Zak Crawley has also been dropped from the squad. Saqib Mahmood has also been included in the squad. Here are the details.
In 15 Tests, Malan has amassed 724 runs at 27.84. He has hit one century and six fifties so far with a best of 140. Malan played his last Test for England against India in 2018. He makes a return to the Test side after a gap of three years. Malan's return could see Haseeb Hameed open the innings alongside Rory Burns.
Sibley has been battling a poor form of late and has scored one Test fifty in his last 15 innings. In 22 Tests, Sibley averages just 28.94 and has scored 1,042 runs. He has been axed after making 11 and a duck in the second Test at Lord's. In the first Test, he had scored 18 and 28.
Hameed, who played the second Test, managed 0 and 9. He will be expected to perform better alongside Burns, who scored a fighting 49 in the first Test against India. Crawley, who was dropped for the second Test, has been left out completely. Meanwhile, Jack Leach has been left out but is on standby as back-up to all-rounder Moeen Ali.
England's Test squad: Joe Root (Yorkshire) Captain, Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), James Anderson (Lancashire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Rory Burns (Surrey), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Sam Curran (Surrey), Haseeb Hameed (Nottinghamshire), Dan Lawrence (Essex), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Ollie Pope (Surrey), Ollie Robinson (Sussex), Mark Wood (Durham)
