Bairstow gives up £1m to get fit for Ashes
JONNY BAIRSTOW will miss the Indian Premier League to ensure he is fully fit to make his England comeback in this year’s Ashes.
The man who did more than anyone to ignite Bazball last summer with four centuries in six Tests was forced out of England’s highly successful winter, which included winning the Twenty20 World Cup and defeating Pakistan 3-0 in a historic Test series, when he suffered a broken leg in a freak accident while playing golf. But even though Bairstow (right) has had successful surgery and is running again, he has decided, in conjunction with England, to miss out on his £950,000 contract with Punjab Kings. That means he can continue his rehabilitation at home in Yorkshire while targeting a return in the early weeks of the County Championship or the one-off Test against Ireland on June 1 that precedes the Ashes. Bairstow’s replacement in the Test side, Harry Brook, has made an extraordinary start to his career but England captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum have said the 33-year-old will ‘walk’ back into the side when fit. That will leave England with a selection puzzle, with Brook now undroppable and keeper-batsman Ben Foakes making a strong case for his retention during the drawn series in New Zealand last month. McCullum did hint that Bairstow’s return may not be as automatic as he had previously suggested when he said after the second Test in Wellington that he ‘wouldn’t crowbar’ anyone into the side. But Bairstow’s absence in India has to be considered a boost because it means there is a greater chance of a key player being fully fit and fresh when it really matters — when Australia arrive for the biggest show in cricket.
Stokes, by contrast, will fulfil his £1.6million deal with Chennai Super Kings even though Sportsmail understands he is unlikely to bowl much, if at all, because of the chronic knee condition that left him virtually playing on one leg in New Zealand. The England captain also confirmed last month that he would return home in good time before the Ireland Test, even if Chennai reach the closing stages of the IPL at the end of May.