England vs India 2018: Alex Hales ruled out of first ODI
An injured Alex Hales has been ruled out of the first ODI of England's series against India.
Hales, who was already fighting for a place in the team with a fit-again Ben Stokes, has reportedly injured his side and will be out of the Trent Bridge ODI.
Only a month ago, Hales had been the primary architect in England's world record total of 481-6 against Australia, scoring 147 off just 92 balls.
30-year-old Dawid Malan, who is yet to earn an ODI cap, has been called in as cover.
In the T20I series that preceded the ODIs, Hales was under pressure to retain his place following Ben Stokes' return but shut his detractors with an unbeaten 58 in the second game that helped the hosts level the series against India. He scored 30 in the final T20I of the series.
In 65 games, Hales has scored 2302 runs at an average of 38.36, with his best score, 171, coming against Pakistan during another world record team score at the very same ground where his side will play the opening game of the ODI series against Virat Kohli's team.
Malan was recently called up as cover for the injured Tom Curran for the T20I series opener against India. He has played 14 Tests and five T20Is since making his debut for England last year.
Kohli's team won the T20I series that preceded the 50-over games, winning the first and third game at Manchester and Bristol. England won the second game at Sophia Gardens.
Here's England's entire squad for the three ODIs:
Eoin Morgan (Captain), Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales, Joe Root, Moeen Ali, David Willey, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Sam Curran, Mark Wood, Jake Ball.
Cover: Dawid Malan for Alex Hales