England's Jonny Bairstow ruled out of T20 World Cup through injury

Jonny Bairstow was ruled out of the Twenty20 World Cup due to an injury, while out-of-form opener Jason Roy was dropped from the squad for the tournament in Australia beginning next month. Bairstow was initially included in the selection but the England and Wales Cricket Board later said he had been ruled out of the rest of the summer and the T20 World Cup after suffering a lower limb injury in a freak accident while playing golf in Leeds on Friday. Bairstow said in a post on Instagram that he was injured after slipping on the golf course and that he would need to undergo an operation.

Roy has been an integral part of England's white-ball squad and his explosive batting at the top of the order embodied the team's aggressive approach as they won their maiden 50-overs World Cup title in 2019. The 32-year-old has struggled for runs this summer and hit 76 runs in total in his last six Twenty20 Internationals which made his position untenable for the World Cup and the preceding seven-match Twenty20 series in Pakistan. Fit-again seamers Chris Woakes and Mark Wood, both of whom last played for England during the test tour of the West Indies in March, have recovered from their respective injuries to be in both squads. England's squad includes Chris Jordan (finger) and Liam Livingstone (ankle) who will skip the Pakistan tour to continue their rehabilitation, the ECB said on Friday. Captain Jos Buttler, who is recovering from a calf injury, will tour Pakistan but will be available to play only in the later stages of the series. "In Buttler's absence, Moeen Ali will captain the side," the ECB said. Jordan Cox, Tom Helm, Will Jacks, Olly Stone and Luke Wood are the five uncapped players named in the England squad for the Pakistan