Rory Burns Likely To Miss Sri Lanka Tour In January Owing To The Birth Of His First Child

England opener, Rory Burns may pull out of the Test series in Sri Lanka which is scheduled for January. The England team is currently in South Africa for the limited-overs series, which Burns is not a part of.

While the dates of the matches in Sri Lanka are not yet announced, the series is expected to begin in mid-January. That would mean, considering the COVID-19 quarantine protocols, the England team will leave for Sri Lanka at the start of the month- speculated to be 2nd January. As the opener is expecting his first child during the same time, he could possibly decide not to tour the island nation.

Will decide when there is more knowledge: Rory Burns

Roary Burns is not rushing into making any decision as the itinerary is not confirmed by the board yet. The left-hander is waiting for ECB to announce the dates – which they are expected to this week – and only then he will make a call on whether to skip the entire tour or see if there is a possibility to play the series partially.

Speaking to London’s Evening Standard, Rory Burns said, “I’m not too sure at the minute. I’m waiting to see what the dates are. I don’t know them yet, so it’s a judgment call closer to the time.”

The 30-year-old wishes to attend the birth of his first child. However, he will require more knowledge about the Sri Lanka tour before announcing his decision.

“I’m not sure [whether I would miss a Test]. I’d like to be there for the birth, especially with it being the first one. I will need to decide a bit closer to the time when there’s a little bit more knowledge of what’s going on,” Rory Burns added.

Burns played all the six home Test matches – against West Indies and Pakistan – when cricket resumed in the pandemic era. The southpaw scored 254 runs in nine innings. While the Surrey-born batsman is the first-choice opener for England, he will be facing severe competition from Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley, and Keaton Jennings once the team returns to its full strength.

Burns will have the full support of his team and the ECB if he decides to skip the two-match series in Sri Lanka. Earlier in the year England captain, Joe Root skipped the first Test match against West Indies to attend the birth of his second child. Ben Stokes led the team in Root’s absence.

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