T20 World Cup 2022: England hand SHOCK RECALL to Alex Hales to replace injured Jonny Bairstow

England batter Alex Hales’ three-year exile from international cricket ended on Wednesday (September 7) when he was selected by England as the replacement for the injured Jonny Bairstow in their squad for the T20 World Cup 2022 next month.

Hales, a big-hitting opening batter, was dropped ahead of the 2019 Cricket World Cup for what was described by the England and Wales Cricket Board as an ‘off-field incident’ that led to a suspension. He reportedly twice tested positive for recreational drugs. That led to England’s white-ball captain at the time, Eoin Morgan, delivering a scathing condemnation of Hales’ behavior, saying he had shown a ‘complete disregard’ for team values and couldn’t be trusted.

Hales’ return signals a change in policy by England, which is now under the captaincy of Jos Buttler following the international retirement of Morgan this year. Managing director of England men’s cricket Rob Key disclosed that Hales had previously argued his case for the T20 World Cup inclusion before the injury to Bairstow. “Alex Hales was mentioned when we spoke about who the best opening partner for Jos was,” Key said.

Alex Hales has also been added to our squads for the #T20WorldCup and IT20 tour of Pakistan _ — England Cricket (@englandcricket) September 7, 2022

“His name was mentioned a lot but we felt Jonny Bairstow was the man to do that in the World Cup. I’ve said on a number of occasions that I feel Alex Hales has served his time for his misdemeanours. Now it’s on form, selection and whether we feel they are the best person to go out there,” he added.

Hales took the 2014 T20 World Cup by storm scoring an unbeaten 116 against Sri Lanka. Recently Hales helped Trent Rockets to victory in this season’s Hundred competition.

Bairstow, England's in-form batter across all formats, had to pull out of the World Cup squad after injuring his leg in what he described as a ‘freak accident’ while playing golf last week. Bairstow needs an operation and said he will be out for the ‘immediate future’. Hales has also been added to England squad for this month’s seven-match T20 series in Pakistan – its first tour of the country since Australia. England will then move on to Australia, where the teams meet for a three-match T20 series before the World Cup starts October.

(with PTI inputs)