Doors of Test team aren't shut for Dawid Malan, insists Ed Smith

England dropped Dawid Malan for the second Test against India after enduring a tough outing at Edgbaston and included the young Ollie Pope in the line-up. The left-hander though was left disappointed as he was axed only after failing in a couple of innings. However, the national selector Ed Smith has clarified that the doors of the national team aren’t shut for the cricketer and he needs to work on his skills by playing County cricket.

He dropped three catches as well while fielding in the slips which also included a crucial reprieve of Virat Kohli who was batting on 21 then and went on to score a massive 149. It almost lost the game for the hosts only to be saved by Sam Curran‘s prolific 63-run knock in the second innings.

Smith, however, has made a number of big calls in his brief tenure so far which has sparked controversy. In the ongoing summer, he has backed two white-ball specialists, Adil Rashid and Jos Buttler, to come good in the whites. Ollie Pope has replaced Malan who is also a 20-year-old like Curran which suggests that performances in the County circuit will also be rewarded.

He’s played well overseas

Ed Smith was effusive in praise of Dawid Malan for scoring his maiden Test hundred at the WACA in Perth during the Ashes last year and also termed him as the best overseas player for England. However, he was quick to mention that they are looking for the right players for the conditions.

“In an England shirt, one of the things he has done distinctively is play very well in very alien conditions so I wanted to reaffirm to him that one of the things we are looking at is having the right players for the right conditions, which is not horses for courses,” he was quoted as saying by ESPN Cricinfo.

Malan averages a paltry 20.23 in eight Tests in England which has probably led to his axing. But Smith has also stated that he will remain in the plans and the doors of the national side are definitely not shut for Malan.

“With Dawid, we talked it all through, the decision and his game – we played together. I have seen him whack it out of the park in training – but it also is about constructive feedback to give them the best chance to come back into contention. And he remains in contention,” England’s national selector further added.

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