England T20 WC squad: Jonny Bairstow Replacement: The England Cricket Board have announced Alex Hales as Jonny Bairstow’s replacement for the Three Lions in the upcoming T20 World Cup. Just hours after the England team was announced, Bairstow had to pull out of the competition due to a leg injury. Follow T20 World Cup LIVE Updates with InsideSport.IN
England T20 WC squad: Alex Hales makes return to England T20 squad as Jonny Bairstow replacement in T20 World Cup squad, Check OUT
England T20 WC squad: Alex Hales makes return to England T20 squad as Jonny Bairstow replacement in T20 World Cup squad, Check OUT
It is important to note that Hales has also been included in England’s squad for the T20 series in Pakistan later this month. So with this call up for the series against the Men in Green and the World Cup, the opener has managed to make his return to the side.
Hales has not played for England since 2019 due to off field reasons. In the build up to the 50-over World Cup, the then-opener tested positive for recreational drugs.
He was nowhere in the picture in the last 12 months or so. But there were a couple of factors, which forced the management to look at him as the possible England opener in Australia. Jason Roy has been in poor form, and was left out of the squad when the team was announced few days back.
Alex Hales has also been added to our squads for the #T20WorldCup and IT20 tour of Pakistan 🏏
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 7, 2022
England T20 WC squad: Alex Hales makes return to England T20 squad as Jonny Bairstow replacement in T20 World Cup squad, Check OUT
And add Bairstow’s injury, they turned their attention to Hales, who has been scoring runs around the world in shorter format in different leagues. Recently, he also became the first player from England to cross 10,000 runs in the T20 format of the game.
In fact, his inclusion does not come as a massive surprise with the player having come close to the original squad as replacement for out of form Jason Roy. But they decided against it during the time.
One of the other main reasons for his inclusion is his performance in the Big Bash League. He has been a solid performer in Australia. The knowledge and success in these conditions also played a vital role in picking him for the ICC event.
Updated England squad for T20 World Cup
Jos Buttler (captain), Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Alex Hales , Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Travelling Reserves: Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Tymal Mills
