English wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow admitted that it is tricky to miss the first two Tests against India next month and said that he'll be raring to go when he comes back to the side later in the tour.
England, who thumped Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series, will be arriving on a long tour of India starting from the first week of February. They are scheduled to play 4 Tests, 3 ODIs, and 5 T20Is matches against the hosts.
However, the England cricket board on Friday (22nd January) announced a 16-member squad for the first two Tests, the first of which will be played on 5th February at MA Chidambaram Stadium Chennai, and rested three key players including Jonny Bairstow from the squad for two tests.
Being involved in two of England's three stands of more than 100 runs and scored 139 runs at an average of 46, Jonny Bairstow was one of the key players for England in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka as the former out the rescue attack for England over island country.
Speaking on his exclusion from the squad for the first two Tests, the wicket-keeper batsman said after a rest he’ll be raring to go in India.
"If they hadn't given me the break now, then when? It's the way of the world at the moment. There's no one who plays all three formats who is doing the whole tour. It's tricky. It's a huge summer and winter and sadly you can't do everything.
You do need to get out of the bubble and see your loved ones. After a rest, I'll be raring to go in India,” Jonny Bairstow told Evening Standard.
Addressing his performance in the recently concluded Test series in Sri Lanka Jonny Bairstow said that he was really happy with how he played.
"I've absolutely loved being back. I was a bit emotional yesterday being back in the dressing room when you've won a series reaffirms why you keep doing it and never give up. It's special. I'd have liked to get a big score but I'm really happy with how I've played have not played a huge amount of red-ball cricket for a little while, to come back in and spend the amount of time at the crease and contribute the way I have is really pleasing, ” he said.
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Having being played last for England in the Boxing Day match against South Africa in Cape Town in 2019. Bairstow earned a Test recall for the Sri Lanka series.
Reflecting on the same Jonny Bairstow, 31, said, "It was frustrating because I wanted to prove that I could play red-ball cricket, which I hold so dearly. My aspirations are to play Test cricket for as long as possible.”
Bairstow talked about the difficulty to perform consistently while traveling from one bio-secure bubble to another. He also exuded confidence in his technique against spin bowling.
I tried to play in between bubbles but it's hard to properly get your teeth stuck into it, because going and playing a game for Yorkshire is not the same as a Test series, with a lead-in to get your game and mindset in order’” he said.
People won't have seen the technical side of things that's gone on during this series, it's been a lot more spin dominant. But in the few bits of pace they bowled, there is a considerable difference to my setup. That's something I'll be going forward with." he added.
Jonny Bairstow has scored 4169 runs for England in 72 Test matches at an average of 35.03.
(PTI Inputs)
