The English
cricket team had to announce a new squad for the England versus Pakistan series,
that started Thursday, after 7 members of its 18-member squad tested positive
for COVID-19.

Forced to play nine
uncapped players, one name was conspicuously missing from the squad — the name
of Alex Hales.

The 32-year-old aggressive opener has fallen off the radar of
English cricket after failing a drug test. His demeanor inside the dressing
room has also been called into question.

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Hales’ absence from
the squad was pointed out by none other than former England cricket team
captain Nasser Hussain.

In his column for the
Daily Mail, Hussain wrote: “The
one glaring absentee from this new-look England squad is Alex Hales. All I can
say is that there must be something else at play here — because his
non-selection cannot just be about those failed drugs tests a couple of years
ago.”

“As we have seen with
other recent indiscretions, people forgive, forget and move on. So, there must
be some other reason those involved with the team hierarchy do not want him
back. To use one of their terms, he is now ‘unselectable’ and you must think
that under this present regime, the door is firmly closed on him.”

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Hales, who has been
performing well in T-20 franchise cricket, has been replaced by Jonny Bairstow
as opener. Hales’ credentials in white ball cricket made his absence from the
squad at a time of desperate need particularly significant. Another former skipper, Michael Vaughan also questioned the ECB’s decision to exclude Hales. 

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After the English
Cricket Board announced that seven members of its squad had tested positive for
COVID-19, managing director of England Men’s Cricket, Ashley Giles said, “It’s
a great opportunity to play on the biggest stage, and for most of the players
selected it’s not something they had been expecting 24 hours ago.”