Jonny Bairstow has been rested from England’s forthcoming Gillette International T20 tri-series with Australia and New Zealand.
The trans-Tasman series, played between February 7-21, starts in Hobart with Australia hosting England and finishes with the final in Auckland.
Bairstow is part of England’s ODI squad against Australia from Sunday and will be called upon in New Zealand for one-day and Test duties in March.
But, alongside Moeen Ali, he has been an ever-present on the Ashes tour and has therefore been given a breather.
Four Yorkshire players have been selected in England’s 16-man squad; Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root and David Willey.
Ben Stokes has also been included pending the conclusion of his police investigation into the incident in Bristol back in September.
England’s chairman of selectors James Whitaker said: “The IT20 tri-series will be very competitive against quality opposition in Australia and New Zealand.
“Our limited overs cricket has been progressing nicely across both formats, so this tournament will be another indicator on where we are heading as a team over the long-term.
“Our aim is to become the best T20 side in the world, and a strong performance in this series will give us the chance to progress up the team rankings.
“We felt with that it was important for Dawid Malan and Joe Root, who have had an intense period of Test cricket over the past few months, to play in the series and continue to develop their T20 experience and skills.”
New Zealand are currently ranked as the world’s best international T20 side.
