England suffer a setback, Jonny Bairstow ruled out of T20 World Cup [Details]

England batsman Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup.

Bairstow sustained a lower limb injury in a freak accident whilst playing golf on Friday in Leeds. He will see a specialist next week to ascertain the full extent of the injury, according to a press release from England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

England are currently playing a three-match Test series at home against South Africa. The series is tied at 1-1 ahead of the final game, which is going to begin next Thursday (Sept. 8). Nottinghamshire batsman Ben Duckett has been added to England's squad ahead of the third Test at Kennington Oval, London.

The release further stated that Bairstow's replacement for the T20 World Cup will be announced in due course. The ICC event is scheduled to begin on Oct. 16 in Australia and will go on till Nov. 13.

Bairstow took to social media on Friday and revealed that he would have to undergo surgery to treat the injury.

"Unfortunately I am going to be unavailable for all games/ tours in the immediate future. The reason being is that I have injured my lower leg in a freak accident and it shall need an operation. The injury came when I slipped on the golf course this morning. I am gutted and want to wish everyone for this week at The Oval all the best firstly the boys that are going to Australia for the T20 World Cup. Absolutely gutted! I will be back, wrote Bairstow in an Instagram post.

Bairstow's injury has come as a big blow for the 2009 T20 World Cup champions as the wicketkeeper-batsman has been in fine form this year across formats. He scored 90, 30, and 27 in the three T20Is against South Africa recently, but had not replicated the same form in the Test series with scores of 0, 18, and 49 in the three innings he had batted in.

While it is still not clear how long Bairstow will be out, he will miss the entire English summer. He is the leading run-scorer in Tests this year, with 1,061 runs at an average of 66.31. He has recorded six centuries and a fifty in 19 innings in the longest format for England.

Bairstow played a significant role in England chasing down 270-plus totals in the three Tests against New Zealand at home recently.

Since making his T20I debut in 2011, Bairstow has scored 1,337 runs at a strike rate of 136.42, which includes eight fifties.

Overall in T20s, Bairstow has amassed 4,304 runs in 180 games at an average of 30.52 and strike rate of 138.08, including three centuries and 25 fifties.

Earlier today, the ECB announced England's 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup.

England's T20 World Cup squad: Jos Buttler (c), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, Dawid Malan, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Ben Stokes, Reece Topley, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Travelling Reserves:Liam Dawson, Richard Gleeson, Tymal Mills