Last Update on: October 30th, 2018 at 01:34 pm
England skipper Joe Root has revealed the Jos Buttler is likely to keep wickets in the first Test against Sri Lanka as they give Jonny Bairstow more time to recover from injury.
Meanwhile, Bairstow is struggling with an ankle injury and, despite making good progress towards a return, captain Root is reluctant to take a risk with his side’s regular Test wicket-keeper. Furthermore, they have called in Ben Foakes as the reverse wicket-keeper. But Jos Buttler, who is the vice-captain of the side, is likely to take the role.
On the possibility of Buttler replacing Bairstow, Joe Root admitted that it is likely to happen. However, he added that Foakes is a high-quality keeper which provides a balance to the side.
“It’s probably the likely scenario. But the reason we called Ben up is because he’s a high-quality wicketkeeper and gives us another way to balance the side up. It’s a nice position to be in,” Joe Root said.
Furthermore, Joe Root added that missing Jonny Bairstow is a big blow to the side. However, Bairstow has recovered quicker than expected. Moreover, he also stated that they don’t want to risk with him and aggravate his injury.
“Jonny would be a big loss but we’ve got some great players that can come in and rebalance the team. He’s actually made good strides in the last week or so and he’s recovered a little bit quicker than we anticipated.
“But we’ve got to make sure he’s fit and ready to go for as long as possible and not just play one Test and then miss a huge chunk of an important winter,” Joe Root concluded.
