England make one change to XI for third Test

England on Wednesday (14 February) announced their XI for the third Test against India in Rajkot with one change to the side that played the previous Test in Visakhapatnam.

Mark Wood, the pacer, replaced off-spinner Shoaib Bashir in the line-up, meaning for the first time in the series, England will feature two specialist fast bowlers in attack.

Wood was part of the England XI in the first Test when they beat India in a close encounter by 28 runs in Hyderabad, when Jimmy Anderson missed out. However, he went wicketless in the two innings.

Anderson, who is on the brink of breaching the 700-wicket mark, replaced Wood in the second Test at Visakhapatnam and picked five wickets (3/47 & 2/29).

Bashir, who made his debut in the Vizag Test, grabbed four scalps including that of Rohit Sharma – his first international wicket. His omission means Rehan Ahmed and Tom Hartley will bear most of the spin-bowling responsibilities, with the assistance of Joe Root.

Jack Leach was ruled out of the remainder of the series due to a knee injury.

Captain Ben Stokes will be in the spotlight as he is set to play his 100th Test – he'll become the 16th England player to reach the landmark.

England XI:

1. Zak Crawley
2. Ben Duckett
3. Ollie Pope
4. Joe Root
5. Jonny Bairstow
6. Ben Stokes (c)
7. Ben Foakes (wk)
8. Rehan Ahmed
9. Tom Hartley
10. Mark Wood
11. James Anderson