Phil Salt is set to get the nod for England in their T20 World Cup semi-final against India - with Dawid Malan unlikely to be risked in Adelaide.
England medics have been monitoring Malan's groin injury after the batter was forced off the field in Saturday's victory over Sri Lanka. Malan did then not take part in the chase as England secured their spot in the last four - but captain Jos Buttler claimed he "would have batted if he needed to."
Malan has since had a light training session as he battles to make Thursday's team sheet at the Adelaide Oval. But the Daily Mail suggest a decision has already been made, with England unwilling to risk a recurrence of an injury that could impact Malan's batting in a game of such magnitude.
Instead, big-hitter Salt is set to come into the team in the crucial no.3 role in his first appearance of the tournament. Salt is the only other batter in the England squad and will be preferred over another bowling option such as Tymal Mills, Chris Jordan or David Willey.
The Lancashire star has been unfortunate not to get his chance to shine in Australia, but will slot in against India if Malan is unable to prove his fitness. England's batters have not been at their best during the tournament, with Malan's top score of 35 coming in the defeat to Ireland in the group stage.
Salt represents an exciting replacement option having made 11 T20 appearances and proved his quality with a superb 88 not out against Pakistan in September. He is expected to bat at no.3, but could also come into the middle order if Buttler decides to alter his batting line-up.
Ben Stokes was England's match-winner against Sri Lanka in Sydney and has urged England to adapt and deliver on a used Adelaide pitch against arguably the most impressive performers in the tournament.
"I think whoever you face in a semi-final of a World Cup is always going to be tough,” said Stokes. “But this is the crunch time in tournaments.
"Thursday is all about which team turns up and can perform the best. We know we have not quite produced our best performance yet, but this is where it counts.
“We'll have to wait and see what the wicket does on Thursday. It's about assessing and adapting to whatever situation you have in front of you. We’ve come here to Adelaide which has very different dimensions to the grounds we're used to playing on. We've been playing on big square boundaries whereas here we're probably going to have to look to change our tactics around that.”
