New Delhi: After suffering a humiliating defeat at Lord's, England are eyeing a strong comeback in the third Test. However, the English team has suffered a major setback in the form of Mark Wood ahead of the third Test at Headingley Leeds starting on August 25. Wood has been ruled out of this crucial Test match due to a shoulder injury.
In such a situation, a big problem has arisen in front of Joe Root regarding the playing XI. David Malan has been included in the team in place of Dominic Sibley, while Saqib Mahmood has also been included in the team for the third Test.
“We've got to be genuine to ourselves, genuine to how we are as individuals and how we are collectively and be as good as we can, the way that we go. Virat's team will play how they play, I just want us to go out and be the best version of ourselves,” Root said.
“I think there were always conversations you always try to find one percenter in ways you can deal with different situations. We've done some good learning off the back of the last game I think we could have managed certain areas differently, me as the captain, we could have gone about things slightly differently.
“We have got three massive games to play in this series, there's a lot to play for. And you know we're desperate to bounce back strongly,” he added.
Meanwhile, the English captain has indicated that England may take the field with David Malan and Saqib Mahmood in the third Test.
Speaking at the press conference, Joe Root said, "David (Malan) certainly provides a lot of experience in the top three, not necessarily just in Test cricket, but he has played a lot of international cricket, he is under pressure. Knows how to deal with situations." On Wood's exit, he said, 'I think Shakib is in a better position to play Test cricket, you must have seen how he has progressed in all formats in the last few years."
Shakib has done well for England in ODI cricket and in the third Test, he has the highest chances of playing.
Root has been scoring the most runs for his team but the captain is confident that the rest of his batsmen will be back in form soon.
"The most important thing about batting in Test cricket is the big partnership. When two batsmen are at the crease together for some time, the situation can look completely different. That should be our focus as a batting team. They have a great bowling attack. If we look at Test cricket, his team has excellent bowlers. His bowling suits the conditions in England or he has adapted to the conditions very well."