Former England skipper Alastair Cook wants the side to drop an underperforming Jonny Bairstow for IND vs ENG 4th Test. The keeper-batter has not a good series so far, having faced failures in Hyderabad, Vizag and Rajkot. Cook opines that Bairstow must be dropped in order to ‘protect the player’.
Cook extends olive branch to Bairstow amid IND vs ENG series
Cook tells TNT Sport that he feels Bairstow has had a tough tour so far in India. He asserts that dropping the batter doesn’t mean he will never play Test cricket again. Cook throws his weight behind Dan Lawrence to replace Bairstow in the Ranchi Test.
“I’m taking him out of the firing line to protect the player, as I think he’s had a tough tour so far and India is a tough place to keep going on the treadmill,” Cook told TNT Sport.
“I’m not saying he’ll never play Test cricket again, but it’s good to have someone who’s fresh of all the debris of this series so far.”
Playing as a specialist batter, Bairstow has endured a woeful run in the ongoing five-match series. He is averaging 17.00 having registered scores of 0, 4, 25, 26, 37 and 10 in six innings.
England head coach Brendon McCullum is keen to lend his support to the 34-year old. “I don’t have concerns over him. I’m not blind but he’s done so well for us and he’s had such an impactful career,” McCullum said.
“We know a top-quality Jonny Bairstow is as good as anyone in any conditions so we’ve got to keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise. I’m sure Jonny will come good,” McCullum added.
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