England name Alex Hales as Jonny Bairstow's replacement in T20 World Cup squad

Opener Alex Hales has been named as Jonny Bairstow's replacement for the upcoming T20 World Cup.

The Nottinghamshire opener returns to the squad 3 years after he was banished from the team prior to the 2019 ODI World Cup at home.

Hales has also been included in the 19-member squad for the T20I tour of Pakistan which begins on September 20. Earlier, there were murmurs that he would replace the out-of-form Jason Roy for the trip to Australia, but his name wasn't to be found when the T20 World Cup squad was first announced.

Also Read Jonny Bairstow ruled out hours after England announce T20 World Cup squad

But with Jonny Bairstow injuring himself on the golf course, there was finally room for Hales, who won The Hundred this year with the Trent Rockets.

The 33-year-old batter has not played international cricket since 2019 due to his off-field issues. Before the 2019 World Cup, the English cricketer had tested positive twice for recreational drugs and subsequently, was removed from the English setup.

World T20 SQUAD: Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Alex Hales, Chris Jordon, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley. David Wiley, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.

Squad for Pakistan series: Jos Buttler (capt), Moeen Ali (vice-capt), Harry Brook, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Alex Hales, Ben Duckett, Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Olly Stone, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Luke Wood, Mark Wood