Jonny Bairstow's fitness struggled throughout 2023, and at one point he appeared to be declared out for the entire season. His fortunes, however, transformed, and he returned for the Ashes 2023.

Bairstow's glove performance during the most recent Ashes series began with a few errors but steadily improved, culminating in a stumping and 23 catches. Ben Foakes' availability, however, increases the likelihood that Bairstow will not be given the chance to keep wickets in India, a notoriously difficult environment for foreign wicket-keepers.

During the announcement of England's squad, Rob Key, the managing director of England, stated that Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum will make a choice based on "balance of the side... all kinds of contributing factors." He also brought attention to the contrasts between keeping wicket in England and India.

"I've not spoken to anyone about that. As long as I'm over there, as long as I'm fit and firing, the selection decisions will be taken out of my hands. But look, I'm fairly happy with where I'm at, whether I'm keeping, batting or whatever it is,” Bairstow said in an interview with Sky Sports.

The England tour of India in 2021 was a catastrophic failure for the host team. The visitors capitulated in a surrender of composure to the Indian unit, anchored by the spin trio of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, subsequent to their triumph in the initial Test held in Chennai. However, according to Bairstow, India would not attempt comparable surfaces in 2021 because doing so would nullify their advantage.

"India can produce different pitches: it doesn't have to turn. We've seen how potent their seam attack has been recently. Look, I'm sure the pitches will turn: it's whether or not they'll turn from day one, which potentially negates a bit of their strength in their seam attack. We know how strong they are,” Bairstow added.

"There's been a lot of talk around Bazball and the probably majority of it has been from you guys. Look, it's a positive way of playing cricket. It's a way in which we're trying to entertain people that are watching. In India, we know the conditions are going to be slightly different… it'll be a case of, can we adapt quick enough and well enough to the conditions, and play suitably?"