Malan, Stokes out: England announce 13-man squad for 2nd Test
After defeating India by 31 runs in the first Test at Edgbaston, England are gearing up for the next encounter. They have announced their 13-man squad for the second match, starting from August 9 at the iconic Lord's stadium. As expected, Dawid Malan has been dropped. Further, Ben Stokes will also not participate in the match due to legal commitments. Here are more details.
Malan's unimpressive performances result in his exclusion
Dawid Malan has been suffering from a poor form since his century in the third Ashes Test, last winter. He has scored only 74 runs in five Test innings. Malan had also dropped the catch of Virat Kohli during India's first innings when the skipper was at 21. Kohli, then, went on to score 149. His string of poor performances led to his exclusion.
Legal issues to keep Stokes out of Lord's Test
Ben Stokes had been magnificent in the first Test at Edgbaston, picking up 6 wickets across two innings. However, he shall also not be able to take to the field at Lord's owing to the scheduled court hearing. Stokes will be tried for his involvement in a brawl outside a nightclub, in Bristol, last September. This comes as a blow to England.
The English replacements for the second Test
England's uncapped batsman Ollie Pope has been called for the match as Malan's replacement. Chris Woakes will be replacing his fellow all-rounder Ben Stokes. Another uncapped player, the seamer, Jamie Porter and the all-rounder Moeen Ali are also a part of the 13-man squad. Notably, for the first Test, Adil Rashid was picked up before Moeen Ali.
England's full squad for the second Test
The 13-man English squad for Lord's Test against India- Joe Root (captain), Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jonny Bairstow (wicket-keeper), Stuart Broad, Jos Buttler, Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Sam Curran, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes, Jamie Porter and Adil Rashid. On July 18, India had announced their squad for the first three Tests. It needs to be seen if Cheteshwar Pujara comes back in India's XI.
