Explosive opening batsman Phil Salt will replace Malan in the England squad for the lone T20I against Pakistan on Sunday, May 5.
Salt smoked 355 runs from 14 innings at a strike-rate of 172.33 in the T20 Blast last year, helping Sussex make the final of the tournament.
Malan sustained a muscular injury in his groin while batting against Ireland in England’s four-wicket win in the lone ODI against them on Friday.
🚨 SQUAD UPDATE 🚨
Sussex batsman Phil Salt has been called into the IT20 squad for the match on Sunday replacing Dawid Malan who has a muscle injury to his left groin.#EngvPak pic.twitter.com/eiTtuTWUmJ
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) May 4, 2019
Salt’s chances of actually getting a cap remain slim as Ben Duckett is more likely to be preferred, but the call-up still affords Salt a taste of the international environment. He will have the company of Sussex teammates Chris Jordan and Jofra Archer in the squad.
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Salt’s form has been patchy for Sussex this season, but displayed promise with a knock of 137 against Kent in the One-Day Cup clash.
In all, the 22-year-old has scored 706 runs from 33 T20 innings at a slightly underwhelming average of 23.53, but his strike-rate of 151.50 is what might have convinced selectors to include him.
