London: England on Wednesday recalled batsman Dawid Malan and added seamer Saqib Mahmood to its squad, apart from dropping struggling opener Dom Sibley, for the third Test against India.England has kept injured pacer Mark Wood in the 15-man squad, hoping that he would be fit for the third match starting August 25 at Leeds, but left out Zak Crawley.
India is leading the five-match series 1-0 after winning the second Test at Lordās by 151 runs. Malan returns to the Test squad for the first time in three years. He last played Test cricket in August 2018 in Englandās victory over India at Edgbaston. Mahmood is yet to make his Test debut. The 24-year-old was named as a reserve bowler during Englandās tour of Sri Lanka and India.
Meanwhile,Ā Riding on his brilliant century against England in the second Test at Lord’s, KL Rahul jumped 19 spots to 37th place, while his skipper Virat Kohli continued to remain India’s top-ranked batsman at fifth position in the latest ICC rankings released on Wednesday.
Rahul, who had re-entered the rankings in 56th position last week, had scored 129 in India’s first innings against England to play a big role in his side’s 151-run win.
Kohli, who had dropped a spot last week, remained static at fifth, while opener Rohit Sharma and wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant also retained their sixth and seventh spots respectively.
England captain Joe Root, who started the series in fifth place and overtook Kohli after the first match against India, has risen another two slots to be at second position after the second Test. He is on 893 rating points, only eight less than New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson.
India’s Ravindra Jadeja moved down a spot to third in Test all-rounders’ rankings, which also features senior India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin at the fourth spot.
In the bowlers’ list, India speedster Jasprit Bumrah dropped a spot to 10th while his fellow pacer Mohammad Siraj, who took four wickets in each innings at Lord’s, made significant gains, climbing 18 spots to reach 38th position. England veteran James Anderson has gained one spot and is sixth after a five-wicket haul in the first innings while his pace colleague Mark Wood occupies the 37th spot.
Pakistan captain Babar Azam moved up two slots to eighth position after scores of 30 and 55 in the first Test against West Indies in Kingston.
For the West Indies, who won by one wicket, Jermaine Blackwood has gained nine slots to reach 35th position after getting 22 and 55. All-rounder Jason Holder is up five places to 43rd and captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who missed a first-innings century by three runs, has advanced 18 places to 45th.