England’s wicket keeper-batter and hard hitting opener Jonny Bairstow was ruled out from the team following an ankle injury. But the injury has been a career altering one as when he recovered there were no spots to grab in the national side. England just like the Indian team too went on in a transition phase and the ongoing transition phase has given them brilliant young faces who stepped up and grabbed the spot in the team, one such shining star is Jamie Smith. The young lads like Harry Brook and Smith made a mark and previous stars like Bairstow had to make a way for them.
Bairstow last played an international match against India during the semi-final of T20 World Cup 2024. Talking about the selection, he revealed that he hasn’t heard from the national selectors since a long time neither with the newly appointed white-ball captain Harry Brook.
“I am still contracted. I haven’t heard too much from them, if anything, to be honest with you, but that’s the part and parcel of it. Brooky (Harry Brook) came out and said that he wanted certain type of players who can take down the best bowlers in the world, and I definitely fit that mould and have done for a long period of time,” Bairstow told Sky Sports.
The right-hand batter believes that he perfectly fits in the Bazball way and aspire to play T20 World Cup 2026 in India.
“So, from a fitness point of view, I have not missed a game since coming back from my ankle injury, which could have been a lot more treacherous than it has been. I am really pleased to be spending a lot of time out on the field, even with the County Championship stuff and then going into the Hundred. From a robustness point of view, I am definitely knocking about. The other bits here, the leadership side of it, have thrown at different challenges,” he added.
Bairstow recently made headlines after a stellar County Championship 2025 run scoring 595 runs at an average of 49.58 in 14 innings. He scored five-half centuries in the championship. He grabbed eyeballs in the IPL 2025 playoffs playing just two games for Mumbai Indians scoring 47 off 22 against Gujarat Titans and 38 off 24 against Punjab Kings in the Playoffs. He beautifully complimented Rohit Sharma emerging as a great duo.