‘The world is officially mad’ - Michael Vaughan bashes England for leaving out Jonny Bairstow for India Tests

Michael Vaughan, the former England captain, was furious after Jonny Bairstow was left out for the first two Tests against India. Earlier this week, the England and Wales Cricket Board named the squad and they decided to rest the wicketkeeper-batsman. Bairstow is known as one of their most efficient players of spin-bowling and is a part of the Tests against Sri Lanka.

In the first Test, he managed scores of 47 and an unbeaten 35, taking his team to a victory by seven wickets. Even in the second Test at the Galle International Stadium, the right-hander showed a great amount of maturity. The fact that he was left out of the first two Tests raised a lot of eyebrows.

Vaughan opines on Jonny Bairstow

He took to Twitter and wrote, “The only player in England’s Top 3 that’s playing the sub continent conditions with any control or calmness is resting for the first 2 Tests against the best Team in world at home #India !!! The world is officially mad…,”

Here’s the tweet –

The only player in England’s Top 3 that’s playing the sub continent conditions with any control or calmness is resting for the first 2 Tests against the best Team in world at home #India !!! The world is officially mad … #SLvENG

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) January 23, 2021

Even in India, Bairstow has more than decent numbers. In six Tests in India, he has notched 361 runs at a decent average of 40.11. In Tests overall in the sub-continent, Bairstow averages nearly 40 and also has a century to his name. In 72 Tests, Bairstow has 4169 runs at an average of 35.03 with six fifties and 21 half-centuries to show for his efforts.

As far as England’s Tests are concerned, the first two matches are set to be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, starting February 5. The third Test will be played at the Sardar Patel Stadium in Ahmedabad from March 4.

The red-ball matches will be followed by the ODIs and T20Is. Joe Root, who’s coming off a double century and a 186 against the Lankans, would be leading the team. James Anderson, their evergreen fast bowler, is also in jaw-dropping form for the national team after his six-wicket haul.

England’s squad for the first two Tests:

Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes