IPL 2023: ECB Denied NOC to Bairstow, Livingstone Declared Fit for the Entire Season

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has denied giving a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to Jonny Bairstow to take part in the upcoming IPL 2023, which will kick start later this month on March 31. Liam Livingstone has been cleared to take part in the entire season as he has reportedly recovered from knee and ankle injuries he sustained during the Rawalpindi Test against Pakistan last year in December. Notably, both players are part of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) Squad.

In what comes in as bitter-sweet news for the Punjab Kings, Bairstow will not be taking part in this year’s IPL whereas his countrymen and PBKS’ all-rounder Liam Livingstone has been declared fit to join the Punjab camp. Other England stars have been given the green signal to participate in the biggest T20 competition in the world.

ECB will keep a check on the English players taking part in this year’s IPL. With Ashes set to be played in June, special emphasis will be on the red-ball players. Ben Stokes, Joe Root, Mark Wood, Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran are the England Test players who are set to be active in the IPL.

IPL 2023: England Saving Bairstow for the Ashes

Bairstow has started training in the nets which means he has recovered from the freak injury he suffered last year in September. Despite being fit, ECB doesn’t want their premier all-format player to be risked for the IPL 2023. Prior to being ruled out, Bairstow was the most intriguing of the lot. He was the poster boy for England in their last home summer, with four hundreds in the first five matches before a freak injury ruled him out of the Oval Test against South Africa and eventually for the remainder of the year. 

He hasn’t played a single game since injuring himself. However, he remains in England’s plans for the home summer. There is no guarantee Bairstow will pick up his form where he left off, but he has got the backing of the team management to walk straight back into the XI. England would love to have Bairstow fit firing for the Ashes. The opening Test of the Ashes is set to be played at Edgbaston in Birmingham from Friday, June 16. Lord’s, Headingley, Old Trafford, and Kennington Oval will host the other four Tests of the five-match series.

List of England Players playing in the IPL 2023: Jos Buttler (Rajasthan Royals), Ben Stokes (Chennai Super Kings), Moeen Ali (Chennai Super Kings), Sam Curran (Punjab Kings), Harry Brook (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Phil Salt (Delhi Capitals), Reece Topley (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Adil Rashid (Sunrisers Hyderabad), Joe Root (Rajasthan Royals), Liam Livingstone (Punjab Kings), Jofra Archer (Mumbai Indians), David Willey (Royal Challengers Bangalore), Mark Wood (Lucknow Super Giants).