England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) on Wednesday (August 18) announced a 15-member squad for the third Test against India, due to be held at Headingley from August 25.
In a media release, ECB confirmed that batsmen Zak Crawley and Dom Sibley have been axed from the squad and will return to their county sides Kent and Warwickshire respectively.
While Sibley registered scores 18, 28, 11 and 0 in the two Tests, Crawley made 33 runs from the two innings he batted in the series opener at Trent Bridge.
Yorkshire batsman Dawid Malan has been added to England Test squad for the first time in three years. His last Test appearance was against India in the 2018 series at home and he will be looking to add to his 15 caps.
Lancashire seamer Saqib Mahmood is also included and could make his Test debut if selected, following impressive prowess in white-ball cricket.
ECB also mentioned that Somerset spinner Jack Leach will return to Taunton, but remains on standby as back-up to Moeen Ali.
The England medical team will monitor seamer Mark Wood’s injured right shoulder sustained at the end of day four during the second Test at Lord’s. It is expected that he will make a full recovery ahead of the Leeds Test.
“The Test series is beautifully poised, and we are relishing the prospect of aiming to bounce back at Emerald Headingley next week,” England head coach Chris Silverwood said in a statement.
“Dawid Malan deserves his opportunity in the Test arena. He has a lot of experience across all formats and, if called upon, I am confident that he can come and do well on his home ground. In the limited time he has played first-class cricket this season, he has shown what he is capable of, scoring a highly accomplished 199 for Yorkshire against Sussex at Headingley in June.
“Zak Crawley will return to Kent to galvanise the excellent work he did last week in the nets at Lord’s with Assistant Coach Graham Thorpe. Zak is still a massive part of our plans moving forward, but we feel he would benefit from time outside the pressure of international competition to get some time working on his skills. He has a bright future and I do not doubt that his time will come again in the Test arena.
“Dom Sibley needs some time away to regain his confidence after a challenging period. He will return to Warwickshire to spend time in the middle without the scrutiny and find some rhythm and confidence. Dom offers a lot of value to the Test environment and some time away should help him. However, he remains part of our plans.”
Having lost the second Test by 151 runs at Lord’s, England are trailing by 1-0 in the five-match Test series.
