After the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) granted his participation, England all-rounder Liam Livingstone will be available for the entire 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) season. However, this is not the case for Jonny Bairstow, an Englishman who has been turned down by the cricketing board for a No Objection Certificate (NOC). The wicketkeeper-batsman has not played since suffering a severe accident on a golf course prior to the T20 World Cup 2022.
Bairstow went through a medical procedure to treat his messed up leg and disjoined lower leg in October 2022 and missed a few of Britain’s global tasks during that time span. Cricbuzz reported that Bairstow is close to recovering completely. But the ECB thinks that the IPL could be a big step for him right away given the nature of the injury he recovered from and the long layoff that came with it. He should be available for the home Ashes series, which starts on June 16.
Given that Bairstow was scheduled to open the innings alongside newly appointed skipper Shikhar Dhawan, Punjab Kings (PBKS) will have to deal with the absence of the batsman.
The franchise might be looking for other options to replace the Englishman now that Mayank Agarwal has left the picture.
Livingstone and Curran, PBKS’s big-money acquisitions, will play throughout the entire IPL.
PBKS record signing Sam Curran, in addition to Liam Livingstone, will appear throughout the campaign.
After also playing for them in the 2019 season, the all-rounder received a startling 18.50 crore rupees from the franchise to begin his second stint.
Livingstone’s participation was in doubt after he was injured and unable to participate in the Pakistan tour. Unfortunately, the all-rounder injured his knee while fielding in his first Test appearance.
He has since participated in off-season training for the Lancashire County Cricket Club and returned home after making progress.
The previous season, Livingstone was a key player for the franchise. He was one of the tournament’s best middle order performers, scoring 437 runs at a strike rate of 182.08.
The ECB has also approved the participation in the IPL of other English players like Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, and Ben Stokes.
In advance of the season, which begins on March 31, they are scheduled to join their respective franchises for pre-season training.