England has suffered a major blow ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup as their stalwart, Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of the marquee event due to a freak injury that is set to take place in Australia later this year in the months of October and November. The England Cricket Board (ECB) on Friday (September 2) announced that Bairstow suffered a freak lower limb injury while playing golf ahead of the upcoming third Test match between England and South Africa at the Oval from September 8.

Ben Duckett will be replacing Bairstow’s place in the squad for the series decider between England and South Africa. Going into the third Test, the series is tied 1-1 as after South Africa’s impressive win in the opening game at Lord’s, the hosts made a strong comeback to level the series at Manchester’s Old Trafford.

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Jonny Bairstow took to Instagram and revealed that he suffered the injury after slipping on the golf course on Friday morning. The star English batter added that he will need to undergo surgery to fully recover from the injury and return to competitive cricket.

The news comes just hours after the Jos Buttler-led team announced their squad for the marquee event in Australia. There was positive news for the 2010 champions as both Mark Wood and Chris Woakes have been included in the squad. In a major call, England had decided to leave Jason Roy out of the squad after an extended run of poor form with Bairstow being trusted to open the innings. 

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The 32-year-old’s injury will force a major revamp in England’s plans. It could mean a lucky relief for Jason Roy and earn him a spot back in the squad or open up a spot for Alex Hales to make a comeback to the team. ECB has stated that Bairstow’s replacement will be announced in due course of time.

England ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Squad: Jos Buttler(c), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.