T20 World Cup: Alex Hales replaces Jonny Bairstow for England
England have replaced the injured Jonny Bairstow with Alex Hales in their ICC T20 World Cup squad. Bairstow was earlier ruled out of the World Cup after suffering an injury while playing golf earlier this month. Hales, who last played for England in March 2019, makes a return after more than three years. Here are the details.
Hales makes a return after more than 3 years
Back in 2019, Hales was dropped for failing an ECB recreational drug test for the second time. He was also not included in England's World Cup squad (50 overs) that year. Former England skipper Eoin Morgan had said back in 2020 that Hales can still have a future if he regains the trust of the team management.
England's updated squad for the ICC T20 World Cup
England's squad for the ICC T20 World Cup: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Alex Hales, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
Bairstow to undergo surgery
Earlier, Bairstow said on Instagram that he will require surgery for the injury suffered while playing golf. Bairstow stated he injured his lower leg in a freak accident that will require an operation. The senior batter had slipped on the golf course which resulted in causing harm to his lower leg. Bairstow was also ruled out of the third Test versus South Africa.
Hales is a prolific T20 specialist
Hales is a prolific T20 specialist and has enjoyed a solid career so far. He has 10,014 runs in T20 cricket (including T20Is) at 30.71. He has struck five tons and 63 fifties at a strike rate of 147.58. He has smashed 1,121 fours and 401 sixes. For England, he has amassed 1,644 runs at 31.01. He has one ton and 8 fifties.
