LONDON: England batsman Jonny Bairstow will miss January’s five-match one-day international series in India because of family illness.
Bairstow, 23, played in the second Test victory over India but returned home early, prior to the two-match Twenty20 series between the sides.
Joe Root, named 2012 Young Cricketer of the Year in September, will replace his Yorkshire team-mate in India.
Bairstow should return for the New Zealand tour later in the month.
Having made his ODI debut in 2011, Bairstow broke into the Test team in 2012 and has won five caps, impressing against South Africa at Lord’s in August, where he scored 95 and 54 in an England defeat.
He played in England’s second Test victory in Mumbai as cover for Ian Bell, who had returned home for the birth of his first child.
Root has yet to appear in an ODI for England, the 21-year-old having made his Test and Twenty20 debuts against India this month.
The ODI squad includes Kevin Pietersen who was rested for the T20 series against India. However the batsman will not travel to New Zealand for the ODI tour after being excluded.
After the ODI series, England will travel straight to New Zealand for their one-day series, in what will be a demanding year for England, with back-to-back Test series’ against Australia.
The squad departs for India on 2 January.
England squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Ian Bell, Tim Bresnan, Danny Briggs, Jos Buttler, Jade Dernbach, Steven Finn, Craig Kieswetter, Stuart Meaker, Eoin Morgan, Samit Patel, Kevin Pietersen, Joe Root, James Tredwell, Chris Woakes.
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