Former stumper-batter Jonny Bairstow was said to be concentrating on the forthcoming Ashes and will miss the 16th Indian Premier League season. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) reportedly declined to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Bairstow for participating in the lucrative league, which is scheduled to begin on March 31. According to the most recent reports, however, it appears that the player had no choice because of this.
Incidentally, the 33-year-old dislocated his ankle and subsequently shattered his leg while playing golf on August 2022. The cricketer had to have surgery after that and hasn’t yet returned to playing in league matches. After his injury, he has missed out on a lot of cricket including the T20 World Cup in Australia and series against Pakistan, New Zealand, and Bangladesh among others.
However, according to Cricbuzz, Bairstow is anticipated to regain full health in the upcoming few weeks; nevertheless, the ECB doesn’t want to take a chance on him because the Ashes are quickly approaching. Hence, Punjab Kings, who bought him for INR 6.5 crore during the IPL auction 2022, would miss his service but are yet to announce his replacement.
After Bairstow’s news, there is also slight uncertainty about whether Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran will be available for the whole tournament, especially when the prior is currently dealing with multiple injuries. However, it is expected that Livingstone will recover on time and will be able to play all the matches for Punjab Kings.
When it comes to Sam Curran, there were a few doubts as well. Notably, the franchise bought him for INR 18.5 crore at the IPL auction – making him the costliest player in the history of the competition. Thus, not having him would have been a major shock for the Shikhar Dhawan-led side but as reported, he will be available throughout the course of the season.
PBKS full squad for IPL 2023: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shahrukh Khan, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Jitesh Sharma, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Atharva Taide, Arshdeep Singh, Nathan Ellis, Baltej Singh, Kagiso Rabada, Harpreet Brar, Rahul Chahar, Sam Curran, Sikandar Raza, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Shivam Singh, and Mohit Rathe
