India vs England: 'Right Decision to Rest Jonny Bairstow, Have to Give Him Time to Chill' - Chris Silverwood

England coach Chris Silverwood defended their decision to rest Jonny Bairstow for the Test series in India, saying it's important to look after a 'multi format' player like him.

England's decision to leave out Bairstow for India raised questions, with experts including Michael Vaughan and Kevin Pietersen calling for the best squad to travel.

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"I think he did well (in Sri Lanka),” said Silverwood.

“Jonny asked me the same question, and I said to him, ‘You did very well’.

“I think he went in in some difficult periods of the game and applied himself very well on some testing wickets. I was very pleased with him.

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“He will come back into the group and the rest of it will be down to selection. We don’t make any guarantees to anybody. You can’t because you don’t know where you’re going to be at that moment in time.

“But I do think it is right that Jonny has a rest.

“He’s very busy and is a multi-format player, and we’ve got to look after him and give him some time to chill out.”

Silverwood was full of praise for Joe Root, the captain who was the Man of the Series in Sri Lanka.

"I thought Rooty played beautifully,” he said. “The runs he scored helped us a lot, and his captaincy was excellent.

“He’s moving well, his balance is beautiful, and he’s getting in some great positions. He seems really happy with himself, and why wouldn’t you be.

“The way he batted was an absolute master-class for anybody watching - for our batsmen inside the dressing room and everyone at home aspiring to be a batsman.

“The way he went about building his innings was absolutely superb. He’s worked hard and deserves his success.”

Silverwood also explained England's approach in the Tests, saying their aim would be to post 400+ totals and be relentless with the ball.

“I’m loving every minute of it - it’s a dream job," he said.

“But the most pleasing thing for me is seeing the plan we’ve put in place work. We’ve made no secret of it. The plan is to score big first-innings runs and be relentless with the bowling, and that is what we have done.

“We are going past 400 more regularly now, and you see the way we are bowling - we are controlling the run-rate and controlling the game.

“We’ve shown it works out here.

“There’s been a lot of talk about spin, but the seamers were outstanding (in Sri Lanka).

“I’ve got a driving passion to help people be the best they can be, and it’s a real privilege to sit where I am at the moment and see the guys do so well.

“There’s a lot of great support around me - we have a great support staff and a great bunch of players. It makes working with them an absolute pleasure.”

• chris silverwood
• India vs England
• India vs England 2021
• Joe Root
• Jonny Bairstow