England selector Ed Smith on Thursday (February 11) hinted at a possible return of opener Alex Hales ahead of the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 in India later this year.
The 32-year-old has not played for England since March 2019 after being suspended for a reported second breach of the England and Wales Cricket Board's recreational drugs policy and eventually dropped from the national squad for the victorious 2019 World Cup campaign.
However, the batsman has been playing domestic T20 cricket across the world and has been doing a brilliant job with the bat, but repeatedly overlooked for the England selection and he was yet again not picked for the upcoming T20I series in India despite the fabulous BBL 10 campaign.
In the recently concluded BBL 2020-2021, the right-hander is the leading scorer of the tournament with 543 runs at 39 and a strike rate of 161 – the performance might force England to take a U-turn and adopt a soft approach towards the Nottinghamshire batsman and recall him after a nearly two-year gap.
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On Thursday, Smith has hinted that Hales could be offered the chance to train with England’s T20I side during the summer later this year before the T20 World Cup in October 2021.
Smith said in the press conference shared by ECB: “It’s coming up for two years [out of the squad] this summer. In the summer we’ll look at inviting some people to train in the run-up to a series as we look to extend and expand our squad and the relationships within.”
The national selector further added, “We’re always looking at ways to consider getting players who aren’t currently in the squad to come along to training days, perhaps in the run-up to a series. We’re very aware of everything players do in franchise cricket around the world. That is something we will discuss and look at moving forward, with what’s best for England cricket.”
He signed off by saying, “It's an opportunity to keep growing and expanding that group of players and keep building those relationships with players who are just outside the actual squad, but that we know are good cricketers. It's something we might consider in the English summer.”
(With ANI Inputs)
