Jonny Bairstow replaces injured Alex Hales in England Twenty20 squad

21 January 2017 05:54

Jonny Bairstow has been added to England's Twenty20 squad for the three-match series in India as a replacement for the injured Alex Hales.

Hales' tour has been cut short after he suffered a broken right hand in the field during Thursday's second one-day international in Cuttack and he is heading home to see a surgeon ahead of a likely six-week lay-off.

Bairstow has not yet featured in the ODI series and was not originally selected for the T20 leg. The Yorkshire wicketkeeper will now stay with the squad as batting cover.

He could also feature in Sunday's third and final 50-over match at Eden Gardens, where the tourists will be looking to avert a 3-0 whitewash, but Sam Billings is in pole position to takes Hales' slot at the top of the order.

Billings scored 62 as a makeshift opener in Chittagong in October and is tipped to win a seventh cap.

England may also consider other changes at the scene of their dramatic World Twenty20 final defeat last year, with left-arm spinner Liam Dawson also awaiting his first appearance of the tour and leg-spinner Adil Rashid angling for a recall after being dropped in Cuttack.

Source: PA