ENG vs IND, 3rd Test: Pacer Mahmood Set To Replace Wood, Malan Also Likely In XI

Pace bowler Saqib Mahmood is set to get his maiden Test cap after fellow pacer Mark Wood was ruled out of the third Test against India to be played here at Headingley from Wednesday, England captain J

"He bowled very well. This is frustrating for him and us. It gives opportunity to some of the others to step up." Root also said that Dawid Malan, who was called in to bolster a struggling England batting line-up, will bat in the top order. Malan could play at No. 3 with Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns set to open the batting.

"Dawid will offer a lot of experience in the top 3. Not necessarily Test cricket, but he has played lots of international cricket. He has dealt with pressure situations. He has played a lot of red-ball cricket over the course of his career. He also had great success and played in a massive series in Australia away (2017-18 Ashes) and been our leading run-scorer there," added Root.

Malan had hit a century and three half-centuries during that Ashes tour.

"We know that he is capable of big things in Test match cricket and he is coming on the back of one County Championship score, but it is a big one (199 for Yorkshire vs Sussex in first week of June). He scores in pressure situations in shorter format," said the 30-year-old England captain who became the second highest run-getter for England in Test cricket during the ongoing series.

The England skipper also hinted that Hameed and Burns could pair up as openers.

"They (Hameed and Burns) are two very fine players. They are different in styles. It is an opportunity for them to make some big runs and get us off to a good start and hopefully, we can follow through on that."