T20 World Cup 2022: Alex Hales, who failed a drug test before the 2019 World Cup, is looking forward to the opportunity

Ahead of the 7-match series against Pakistan, Alex Hales said he never thought he would be able to represent his nation in an international cricket match after failing a drug test. 

In 2019, Alex Hales was withdrawn from the preliminary squad for the 50-over World Cup when he was served with a three-week ban for recreational drug use. Failing a drug test left him in the wilderness for three years before he could make a comeback. 

A sudden turn of events and fate for the opener

Getting overlooked for three years, the English Cricket Board never decided to add Alex Hales as a replacement for Jonny Bairstow in the T20I World Cup squad. On which he said, "I felt like I'd been playing the best cricket of my career over those three years as well, so to get this chance again is something I'm really proud of and something I'm looking forward to, especially the World Cup in Australia, somewhere I've got a lot of experience."

"I think I have changed. I've definitely matured. I'm comfortably into my 30s now and turning into a veteran," he added.

Accepting his mistake, he said, "At the end of the day, it was my fault, wasn't it? … You have to look yourself in the mirror and try to improve as a person and learn from your mistakes."

Despite things going south, he continued working hard to play in franchise-based cricket worldwide. And now, a sudden change of fate has landed him one of the best opportunities with which he could have potentially made a comeback. 

On getting him back to the squad, Jos Buttler said, "I spoke to lots of the senior players to make sure that no one would have any issues with Alex being back in the team if we wanted to select him. No one had any issues. He's obviously been in excellent form. We know what a talented player he is and he's gained a lot of experience as well since the last time he played for England."

He added, "Looking ahead to the World Cup, his Big Bash record is fantastic [1857 runs, 33.16 average, 151.34 strike rate]. Australia is a place that he's done well, and so he seemed the obvious pick."

The English right-handed batter will aim to take maximum advantage to rediscover his rhythm and form in international cricket.