Just a few hours after England announced their T20 World Cup squad, their star batsman Jonny Bairstow got ruled out of the tournament after being involved in an accident that nobody could have ever anticipated. Bairstow was actually playing golf yesterday and he slipped on the golf course which resulted in a freak injury.
Generally, a slip hardly causes any serious injury to anyone, but that slip on the golf course ended up causing a leg fracture to Bairstow, and not only did he end up getting ruled out of the last test match against South Africa, the hard hitter now doesn’t have any chance of playing in the T20 World Cup either.
Jonny Bairstow was supposed to be one of the contenders to open the batting for England in the upcoming T20 World Cup, as the England selectors had decided to drop the regular opener, Jason Roy. But now with Bairstow out, it remains to be seen whether England brings Roy back or they give a recall to Alex Hales, who hasn’t played any cricket for England for a long time.
Sounds a serious injury for Bairstow, could be year-ending (so Pakistan Tests too). Apparently he slipped walking to a tee box. Seeing a specialist next week but sounds like a fracture. https://t.co/fweufxVGss
— Will Macpherson (@willis_macp) September 2, 2022
Jonny Bairstow, after his heroics in test cricket during this English summer, had become an integral part of the English set-up in all three formats of the game, but now he will have to remain on the sidelines for a long time. The wicketkeeper-batsman himself confirmed yesterday that he would have to go through surgery.
Jonny Bairstow might make his comeback in the UAE T20 league
If Bairstow manages to recover towards the end of the year, he might make his comeback in the UAE T20 league where he has been signed by the Abu Dhabi Knight Riders. Bairstow is also likely to be retained by Punjab Kings for the next season of IPL.
In the absence of Bairstow, another Yorkshire batsman Harry Brook is expected to make his test debut for England in the third test match against South Africa, which is starting next Thursday.