Picture Credit: Twitter
England's opening batter Jonny Bairstow is reportedly doubtful for 1st T20I against South Africa after sustaining an injury on his left knee due to his participation in an unusual training exercise. Reports have claimed that Bairstow needed an ice pack and strapping around his left knee while leaving a training session at Bristol's Seat Unique Stadium on Tuesday.
The 32-year-old Jonny Bairstow was walking in a discomfort on his way to the locker room but there is no official announcement from the England Cricket Board over his participation in the first T20I against Proteas on Wednesday. Speaking of his unusual training exercise, Bairstow was seen carrying his teammate Sam Curran on his shoulder while the players were sweating out in the gym.
In the video which is going viral on internet, Jonny Bairstow picked up Sam Curran and carried him on his shoulder while the latter was surprised to see the strength of his senior-pro.
Check out the video:
In the video shared by teammate Reece Topley on Instagram, Bairstow appeared to be in pain as he completed his walk. Notably, Bairstow has been in a form of his life recently, as he smashed back-to-back centuries in Test series against New Zealand, followed by one-off Test match against India.
While, Jonny Bairstow could not deliver similar performance in white-ball cricket against India as he could only add 7, 38 and 0 in three ODIs. Bairstow's poor performance at top-of-the order was one of the major reason host lost the three-match home series against Rohit Sharma-led side.
The opening batter was again back in action against South Africa as he scored 63 runs off 71 in the first ODI. However, England lost the first match by 62 runs as the host were restricted to 271 while chasing 333. But Jos Buttler-led side made a remarkable comeback in the second ODI and defeated the visitors by 118-run in the rain affected game. The third and final ODI was washed away due to rain.