England batter Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League, The Guardian reported. He will focusing on preparing for the Ashes that is set to be played in June within three weeks after the cash-rich league. Bairstow was involved in a frake accident on a golf course in September after which he suffered multiple fractures, a dislocated ankle and a ligament damage. He underwent surgery on his left leg and since then, has made significant progress.
Coming back to his IPL team, Bairstow was due to play for Punjab Kings in the IPL but despite returning to running outdoors last month, the cricketer is unlikely to get fit in time. He has also begun practising in the nets recently, however, getting fit for the tournament starting from March 31 seems a distant dream for now. The official announcement is yet to come from IPL or the franchise but Bairstow's unavailability is going to hit Punjab Kings hard.
Bairstow has played 39 matches in his IPL career so far amassing 1291 runs at an average of 35.86 and a strike-rate of 142.65 with one century and 9 fifties to his name. The last season was a decent one for the cricketer as well scoring 253 runs at a strike-rate of 144.57 with two scores of more than 50. As for Punjab Kings, the franchise will be looking for a replacement soon now. They will be starting their campaign against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 1 in Mohali. The team couldn't make it to the playoffs and this time around, they will be hoping to go one step further at least.
