He has suffered enough punishment: Rob Key on Alex Hales

The managing director of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) Rob Key has backed Alex Hales to make a comeback to the national side. 

The dashing English top-order batter Alex Hales was ruled out of England’s 2019 World Cup squad after he lost the trust of England’s limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan by failing in a recreational drug test. As a result, he has been continuously sidelined despite performing admirably in domestic tournaments across the globe and has never played any international match since then. 

Key, who represented England in 21 international matches, feels that Hales has served enough punishment for his deeds and deserves a second chance to revive his international career. 

The newly recruited ECB chief has assured that he will have talks with the selection committee regarding the matter and ensure Hales’s availability for selection into the national team. 

However, he has clarified that the place of Hales in the England team is not guaranteed as it obviously depends on his recent form and several other factors. 

“I will have to speak to the people involved in that decision, but I would have Alex Hales for selection,” Key said. “I think he has done his time. But does that mean he gets in the team? That is a different debate,” the former Kent batter concluded. 

Alex Hales, who debuted in 2011 for England, has pretty decent numbers at the international level, especially in the white-ball formats. 

The dasher has the potential to make a grand return into international cricket. Still, currently, England have a highly invincible top order boosted by the likes of Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan et al. 

Therefore, there exists the problem of having plenty of terrific options, which might severely affect his comeback into the national white-ball set-up.