England drop Rashid for Dawson; Sri Lanka opt to field

Toss Sri Lanka chose to bowl vs England

England made an eyebrow-raising selection decision when they left Adil Rashid out of their side to face Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi on Thursday following an expensive outing against Pakistan on Tuesday.

Rashid took 1 for 55 from his eight overs in England's 87-run defeat, making his comeback after he missed September's three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka with a hand injury. He has been left out for Liam Dawson for England's second game of their tri-series in Pakistan, and the change is a tactical one.

It is one of two England changes, with Josh Tongue coming in for Sonny Baker, and captain Harry Brook said that he was happy to be batting first despite losing the toss. "We were going to have a bat today," he said. "[The pitch] looks slightly drier, and feels slightly harder. Hopefully, we get some runs on the board and put them under pressure."

Rashid's omission is a major surprise, given his status as one of England's most experienced ODI players and their second-highest wicket-taker in the format, behind only James Anderson. Nasser Hussain, the former England captain, suggested that it owed to the success of Pakistan's left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas on Tuesday night.

"I thought he'd play just to give him a run of games," Hussain said on Sky Sports. "I think it's a tactical one, having seen the way the pitch played and seen how Pakistan's spinners bowled on it, bowling it into the surface. Anything that was pitched up - whether it be seamers or spinners - got belted, and Dawson does bowl it into the surface, and obviously gives a bit more batting as well."

Brook criticised England's intent against Pakistan's spinners on Tuesday night - including his own - and reiterated his view that they should have played more aggressively at the toss. "We were probably a bit too careful against their spinners," he said. "We've just got to learn from that, and look to put them under a bit more pressure."

Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka's captain, said that his decision to bowl first owed to his belief that late-evening dew would prompt a change in conditions - despite the fact that both matches in the Rawalpindi leg of this tri-series have been won by the team batting first. "The dew will come in the second innings, hopefully," he said.

Sri Lanka mirrored England's selection in their only change, replacing a legspinner with a left-arm fingerspinner by bringing Dunith Wellalage in for Sachindu Colombage.

Sri Lanka: 1 Avishka Fernando, 2 Kamindu Mendis, 3 Kusal Mendis (capt/wk), 4 Pavan Rathnayake, 5 Sahan Arachchige, 6 Janith Liyanage, 7 Dasun Shanaka, 8 Dunith Wellalage, 9 Eshan Malinga, 10 Asitha Fernando, 11 Dilshan Madushanka

England: 1 Tom Banton, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jordan Cox (wk), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Liam Dawson, 10 Gus Atkinson, 10, 11 Josh Tongue