IPL of 2023: England’s power hitter Liam Livingstone won’t be available, For the Punjab Kings, until the second game.
After recovering from a knee injury he sustained in December, England’s power hitter Liam Livingstone will miss the opening game for Punjab Kings in the IPL because he has not yet received a fitness clearance from the ECB. On April 1, Punjab Kings will host KKR for the first game of the Indian Premier League season.
Since injuring his knee on his Test debut in Pakistan in December, Livingstone, an essential member of the PBKS squad due to his all-round abilities, has not played competitive cricket. Last year, the 29-year-old hurt his ankle during a local Hundred competition.
“He is out of the first game at least as the ECB is conducting scans to determine his fitness status. He should be available from the second game onwards,” an IPL source told PTI.
On Wednesday, Livingstone shared a social media post in which he can be seen batting in the nets.
He had his best IPL season ever last year, scoring 437 runs in 14 games at an average of 36.42 and a phenomenal strike rate of 182.08. He has played for England in 12 ODIs and 29 T20s, and is well-known for his powerful hitting all over the world.
He had taken six wickets in 2022, when Punjab finished sixth for the fourth straight year, using a combination of off-spin and leg-break. Sam Curran, another Englishman, has already joined the Punjab squad and is the highest paid player in IPL history.
