England Call Up Ben Foakes As Cover For Jonny Bairstow For Sri Lanka Tests

England have added uncapped wicketkeeper Ben Foakes to their Test squad as cover for Jonny Bairstow for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.

Jonny Bairstow is in a race against time to get fit for the first Test against Sri Lanka, starting on November 6 at Galle. The wicketkeeper-batsman suffered ligament damage in his right ankle while playing football on the eve of the penultimate one-day international. As a result, he has already been ruled out of the one-off T20I which concluded England’s limited-overs leg in Sri Lanka.

And with no uncertainty prevailing over his fitness, England have added Ben Foakes in the squad. Foakes is rated as the best gloveman on the county circuit. The Surrey star is yet to make his Test debut but has the experience of sharing the dressing room with the national team. He had travelled to Australia as back-up in the 2017/18 Ashes series.

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Foakes is expected to play in the first of two warm-up games on Tuesday.

England will be keen to have their best man behind the stumps in the spinning pitches of Sri Lanka. Jos Buttler has been doing the job in the limited-overs series and had also impressed during the Test series against India. However, England would love to have a red-ball specialist behind the stumps in the testing conditions of Sri Lanka.

Foakes is likely to link up with the team over the weekend. On the other hand, the rest of England’s Test squad arrived in Sri Lanka on Thursday.

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Meanwhile, England won the five-match ODI series 3-1. However, they suffered their heaviest ODI defeat in the last game, losing it by 219 runs. They will be looking to bounce back from the heavy defeat in the upcoming T20I. Following the T20I, the three-match Test will get underway.