Massive Blow For Punjab Kings! Star Cricketer To Miss IPL 2023: Report
Punjab Kings will be missing a major player in their ranks due to injury, according to reports.
Prolific England batter Jonny Bairstow will miss the entire IPL this year as his cricket board refused to grant him No Objection Certificate (NOC) to play in the high-profile T20 league beginning on March 31, according to a report. The 33-year-old Bairstow is recovering from a leg injury he sustained in September last year. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), however, cleared all-rounder Liam Livingstone, who is coming back after recovering from his knee and ankle injuries, to play in the IPL. Punjab Kings had bought Livingstone and Bairstow for Rs 11.50 crores and Rs 6.75 crores respectively during the IPL auction.
"Punjab Kings have some bittersweet news as England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has cleared Liam Livingstone for participation in the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) but has stopped Jonny Bairstow from taking part," a report in cricbuzz said on Thursday.
"...given the long injury lay-off, the ECB has decided not to issue him (Bairstow) the NOC for the season, which kicks off on March 31." Bairstow missed England's T20 World Cup-winning campaign and Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand after sustaining multiple fractures following a freak slip on the golf course in September 2022.
Bairstow, who underwent surgery on his his broken leg and dislocated ankle in October last, is expected to be up and running in a couple of weeks' times, according to the report.
The 29-year-old Livingstone too had a stop-start season in 2022 after hurting his ankle during the Hundred tournament in the UK. He has been out of action since the Rawalpindi Test last December because of injuries.
He was part of the Lancashire County Cricket Club's off-season training recently in Dubai.
The report also said that Sam Curran, who was the most expensive buy at the IPL auction earlier this year, will be available for Punjab Kings, who splurged Rs 18.50 crore for the fast bowling all-rounder.
Jonny Bairstow
Sunrisers Hyderabad