Even before the start of IPL 2023, Punjab Kings have suffered a big setback. Veteran batsman Jonny Bairstow will not be able to play this season. Johnny suffered a left leg injury in September last year. Bairstow suffered this injury before the third and final Test against South Africa, when he was playing golf with his friends. Australia’s uncapped Matthew Short will replace Jonny Bairstow. Punjab Kings also informed about this by releasing a video message.
Bairstow has not played cricket for England since the surgery. He played the last T20 in July. Due to injury, Bairstow did not play in the T20 World Cup.
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Punjab Kings retained Jonny Bairstow for IPL 2023. In the 2022 auction, Punjab bought this English wicketkeeper for 6.75 crores. Last year, Bairstow scored 253 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 145 including 2 half-centuries.
Bairstow’s replacement Matthew Short plays domestic cricket for Victoria. He has played 67 T20s so far. In this, he scored 1409 runs at a strike rate of 136. He has scored 1 century and 7 half-centuries.
Punjab Kings full squad for IPL 2023:
Sam Curran, Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Matthew Short, Prabhsimran Singh, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, Shahrukh Khan, Raj Bawa, Rishi Dhawan, Liam Livingstone, Arshdeep Singh, Baltej Singh,Nathan Ellis, Kagiso Rabada, Rahul Chahar, Harpreet Brar, Sikandar Raza, Shivam Singh, Harpreet Bhatia, Vidwath Kaverappa, Mohit Rathee, Atharva Taide, Jitesh Sharma.