Jonny Bairstow eyes England return with Yorkshire stint: Details here
What's the story
Renowned England batter Jonny Bairstow has vowed to return to the national team this summer.
The 35-year-old cricketer is on an ECB central contract, which expires in October.
Although he hasn't been a part of the red or white-ball setup since June 2024, Bairstow is determined to end his international hiatus by scoring heavily for Yorkshire in the upcoming County Championship Division 1 tournament, starting next month.
Departure
Bairstow's last appearance for England and subsequent exclusion
Bairstow's last appearance in an England shirt was during the T20 World Cup semi-final loss to India last year.
He was dropped from the Test team at the start of that summer as part of a revamp following a 4-1 defeat in England's tour of India.
Since then, he hasn't been selected for any opportunities as a wicketkeeper-batter despite being on an ECB central contract until October.
Hopeful
Bairstow remains hopeful for a return
Bairstow hasn't confirmed if he has got any clarity from head coach Brendon McCullum or men's managing director Rob Key. However, he is confident a return is still possible.
"Yes, because I'm still contracted," Bairstow said when asked about the possibility of being recalled, as per ESPNcricinfo. "I'd be stupid not to. The whole purpose of everything is to try and play for England."
Past glory
Bairstow's impressive performance in 2022
Bairstow was pivotal to the Bazball project under McCullum and Test captain Ben Stokes in the summer of 2022.
He scored four centuries in five innings, including two hundreds against India at Headingley.
However, a broken leg kept him out until the 2023 season, missing tours of Pakistan and New Zealand as well as England's 2022 T20 World Cup win.
Captaincy
Bairstow's focus on Yorkshire and potential captaincy
Despite being an international star, Bairstow's first priority is Yorkshire. He will open the season for the club after their promotion to Division One.
According to Daily Mail, Bairstow is set to take Yorkshire's red-ball captaincy from Shan Masood who has joined Leicestershire after two years.
His possible participation in IPL and PSL is believed to be delaying confirmation of his appointment as captain.
Information
A look at Bairstow's FC stats
As per ESPNcricinfo, Bairstow has featured in 220 First-Class matches, scoring 14,094 runs from 368 innings at 42.83. In addition to 31 tons, he has slammed 70 fifties. 6,042 of his FC runs have come for England in Test cricket at 36.39 with the help of 12 tons and 26 fifties.