5 possible replacements for Alastair Cook as England Test captain

#2 Jonny Bairstow

Bairstow has improved his wicket-keeping and batting a lot to cement his Test spot

One of the very few bright spots for England Test cricket this year has been the emergence of Jonny Bairstow. The wicket-keeper batsman has worked on his batting skills along with his stance which is evident with the number of runs he has scored in 2016.

In the process, Bairstow also broke a 16 year old record of Andy Flower to score more Test runs as a wicket-keeper in a calendar year. His improved glove work behind the stumps and his naturally aggressive batting bagged him the honourable white jersey ahead of the likes of Jos Buttler.

Though he could not reach the three-figure mark in any of the five tests against India, Bairstow contributed with a sizeable score to the team’s total more often than not. His crucial partnerships with Stokes were one of the reasons for England to score around 400 during the series. Bairstow was even instrumental in setting the fields for a particular batsman and assisted Cook in taking important decisions over DRS.

Bairstow looks set for a long stint as a wicket-keeper batsman for England and it should not be a surprising move if the baton is handed over to him in future.