England player Jonny Bairstow says that his priority is being fit and in form rather thinking about a spot in the playing XI on the upcoming tour of India. England are scheduled to play five Tests in India starting January 25. Bairstow and Ben Foakes are the two specialist wicketkeepers in Ben Stokes-led squad.

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“I’ve not spoken to anyone about that. As long as I’m over there, as long as I’m fit and firing, the selection decisions will be taken out of my hands. But look, I’m fairly happy with where I’m at, whether I’m keeping, batting, or whatever it is,” he said while talking to Sky Sports.

The Englishman also spoke about the pitches in India and opined that rank turners will negate advantages for India’s seam attack. Notably, India pacers have been very potent in the recent times, most recently in South Africa Test series which stood drawn at 1-1.

The wicketkeeper-batter, however, acknowledged that the pitches in India will turn for sure.

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“Look, I’m sure the pitches will turn: it’s whether or not they’ll turn from day one, which potentially negates a bit of their strength in their seam attack. We know how strong they are,” said Bairstow.

“India can produce different pitches: it doesn’t have to turn. We’ve seen how potent their seam attack has been recently,” he added.

England had lost the last series in India 1-3 despites winning the opening Test in Chennai. There was a lot of criticism around the pitches that time as well.

As for the tour, Hyderabad will be hosting the first Test before the teams move to Visakhapatnam for the second Test from February 2. The next three Tests will be played in Rajkot, Ranchi and Dharamsala from February 15, February 23 and March 7, respectively.

England’s squad for India Tests –

Ben Stokes (captain), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (wicketkeeper), Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes, Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root and Mark Wood

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