'Jonny Bairstow to join England for 3rd & 4th Test matches against India', states ECB

England's assistant batting coach Graham Thorpe has said that star batsman Jonny Bairstow will join the squad after the first Test against India that gets underway on February 5. However, official England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) media team later confirmed that the plan is still for the batsman to return for the third and fourth Test.

The wicket-keeper batsman has been rested for the first two Test matches that will be played in Chennai's MA Chidambaram Stadium and both  England selectors, as well as team management, faced huge criticism for the same. Nonetheless, Thorpe defended the team's decision to rest Bairstow for the first two Tests given the bio-bubble situation forced by the coronavirus pandemic.

'Jonny Bairstow to join English team for 3rd & 4th Tests'

"Every individual case is different. They are managing the amount of time in the environment. The T20 World Cup, which is coming up, got the IPL tournament as well where players gain a lot of experience. I suppose Jonny is on a white-ball contract at the moment as well but he is coming back in after the first Test back into the squad," Thorpe said in the virtual press conference.

But the ECB media team later sent out a message saying: "To clarify, the plan is still for Jonny Bairstow to return for the third and fourth Test and not the second Test. Along with Sam Curran and Mark Wood."

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India Vs England: Test series

The elegant number three batsman Joe Root will be leading England in the four-match Test series while regular skipper Virat Kohli makes his return to the cricket field after paternity leave. Meanwhile, the visitors would be hoping to repeat the heroics of the 2012/13 season where they had registered a 2-1 win in (four-match series) under the leadership of former iconic opener Alastair Cook. That remains England's last Test series win on Indian soil to date.

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At the same time, the four-match Test series will also constitute a major part of the ongoing inaugural ICC World Test Championship.

Here are the fixtures of the four-match Test series:

1st Test:  5th-9th Feb (Chennai)

2nd Test: 13th-17th Feb (Chennai)

3rd Test:  24th-28th Feb (Ahmedabad)

4th Test:  4th 8th Mar (Ahmedabad)

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(With ANI Inputs)