Jonny Bairstow returns, Jofra Archer left out as Eng announce 16-man squad for SL series

Jonny Bairstow has been named in the England squad for the upcoming away Test series against Sri Lanka that gets underway on January 14, 2021. Bairstow will finally make a comeback to red-ball cricket as the Joe Root-led side look to make an impact in the 'Emerald Island'. 

The wicket-keeper batsman's inclusion in the Test squad has officially been confirmed by the governing body of world cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) on their official Twitter handle. 

Bairstow to don the white jersey for England after a year

Meanwhile, the English limited-overs specialist will be making his first Test appearance after more than a year. He had last donned the white jersey for England during the 'Boxing Day' Test match against South Africa at the SuperSport Park, Centurion last year (December 26-30).  Apart from the opening batsman, all-rounder, Moeen Ali has also found a place in the Test squad as well. 

At the same time, a few of their star players including ace all-rounder Ben Stokes, opener Rory Burns, middle-order batsman Ollie Pope, and, premier pacer Jofra Archer have been excluded from the team's scheme of things for the Test series. 

Even though Archer was included for the away T20Is against South Africa, he was rested for the three-match ODI series which were eventually called off due to coronavirus fear. 

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England tour of Sri Lanka 2020/21

Sri Lanka will be hosting England in a two-match Test series in the month of January. The Test series will form part of the inaugural 2019–21 ICC World Test Championship. The Galle International Stadium will be hosting both the matches. The first match will be played from January 14-18 while the second one will be played from January 22-26, 2021. 

The series was originally scheduled to be held in March 2020 but had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in December 2020 confirmed the dates for the tour with both Test matches taking place in Galle.

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