India vs England: Won't draw into verbal altercations, says Root ahead of 3rd Test

England captain Joe Root on Monday vowed that his boys won't be involved in a verbal altercation with India ahead of the third Test in Leeds.

Two days prior to the third Test, Root insisted that his side won't be distracted or drawn into anything that's not honest.

With the 151-run win at Lord's, India went 1-0 up in the five-match Test series with the third Test starting on Wednesday (Aug. 25) at Headingley.

"There's the theatre and everything else surrounding the game. We've got to make sure that we play the game how we want to play and we look after that as best as we can, and not get too distracted or drawn into anything that's not honest," said Root in the virtual pre-match media interaction.

"We've got to be genuine to ourselves, genuine to how we are as individuals and how we are collectively and be as good as we can, the way that we go. Virat's team will play how they play, I just want us to go out and be the best version of ourselves," added Root on Monday.

The second Test at Lord's saw the atmosphere get intense when Jasprt Bumrah and James Anderson got into a verbal fight before the other players from both sides not hesitate to get involved too.

Root, in the same press conference, also admitted that tactical blunders have cost his side's the Lord's Test.

"I think there were always conversations you always try to find one percentres in ways you can deal with different situations. We've done some good learning off the back of the last game I think we could have managed certain areas differently, me as the captain, we could have gone about things slightly differently. We have got three massive games to play in this series, there's a lot to play for. And you know we're desperate to bounce back strongly," the English skipper further added.

England have dropped out of form opener Dom Sibley from the third Test and has recalled Dawid Malan, who is set to make a Test return after the gap of three years.

"Dawid obviously offers a lot of experience in that top three, not necessarily in terms of experience in Test cricket, but he has played a huge amount of international cricket now, he's dealt with pressure situations. He's played a lot of red ball cricket over the course of his career and he's also had great successes in a massive series in Australia and was our leading scorer out there, so we know that he's capable of big things," Root said.

Moreover, England fast bowler Mark Wood was ruled out of the Headingley Test due to a jarred right shoulder. Wood, who replaced injured Stuart Broad in the second Test, sustained the injury on the fourth day of the match at Lord's.

"He will remain with the squad in Leeds and will continue his rehab with the England medical team. The 31-year-old will be assessed at the end of this Test match," read a press release from England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

England are already without the services of key players such as Ben Stokes, Broad, Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer due to different reasons. Saqib Mahmood, who has played limited-overs cricket for England, has been added to the hosts' squad for the Leeds' Test.