Mark Wood replaced young spinner Shoaib Bashir as England named their playing XI for the third Test against India, which starts on Thursday, February 15 at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium in Rajkot.
Wood played in the opening Test at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, where he failed to pick up a single wicket. Wood was left out of the second Test in Visakhapatnam as the Three Lions roped in the 41-year-old James Anderson.
Bashir, who made his Test debut after Jack Leach was ruled out due to a knee injury, could not retain his place in the XI. The 20-year-old picked up 4 wickets in the second Test, including a 3-wicket haul in the first innings.
Joe Root copped a blow on his right little finger while fielding in the slip cordon in the second Test, but he recovered in time for the Rajkot Test. The former English Test skipper will also be looking to make amends after scoring only 52 runs thus far in the series at an average of 13.
England playing XI for Rajkot Test
Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes (C), Ben Foakes, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Hartley, Mark Wood, James Anderson
Can Ben Stokes make happy memories of 100th Test?
For skipper Ben Stokes, the Rajkot Test is special as the veteran is set to play his 100th match in the purest format. On Tuesday, Ollie Pope, who played a match-winning knock of 196 in the Hyderabad Test, lauded Stokes for giving England plenty of “special moments” since taking charge as the Test skipper in 2022.
“Unbelievable achievement to play 100 Tests. Since he has been the captain there have been so many special moments,” Pope said.
England lost the second Test in Visakhapatnam by 106 runs as India stormed back to make it 1-1 in the 5-match series.
