IND vs ENG 2018: Alex Hales Out Of ODI Series Due To Side Strain

England batsman Alex Hales has been ruled out of the entire one-day international series against India with a side strain.

The right-handed batsman suffered the injury practising in the nets on Wednesday and missed the first game It was initially thought that the 29-year old would only miss the series-opener. However, an ECB spokesperson confirmed that the batsman would be out of the entire series.

“Alex Hales has a left side strain, he will be out for three to four weeks and misses the rest of the series,” the spokesperson said.

Middlesex batsman Dawid Malan was added to the squad as cover for Hales for the first ODI. He will stay with the squad for Saturday’s second match at Lord’s. A replacement for Hales for the final game in Leeds will be decided in due course. Malan, meanwhile, is yet to make his ODI debut. He, however, has an impressive record in T20Is.

Malan had scored 78 off 44 balls on his T20I debut against South Africa. So far, he has scored four fifties in 5 T20Is.

Meanwhile, Sam Curran has been released from the squad to play for Surrey against Sussex in the Vitality T20 Blast on Friday night in Hove. He will then rejoin the team for the second ODI at Lord’s on Saturday.

England suffered a crushing 8-wicket defeat in the first ODI.  Asked to bat first, the hosts once again failed to handle chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm spinner tore through their lineup to register career-best figures of 6 for 25. As a result, England were all out for just 268 despite being 71 for 0 after 10 overs.

In reply, India chased down the total with utmost ease, crossing the finishing line in the 41st over. Rohit Sharma starred with the bat, scoring an unbeaten 137. Skipper Virat Kohli also scored a crucial 75 as he and Rohit batted England out of the game.