IPL 2023: Liam Livingstone ruled out of Punjab Kings’ opening game against KKR

Punjab Kings will kickstart their IPL 2023 campaign on April 1 against Nitish Rana-led Kolkata Knight Riders. Ahead of their first game, the PBKS franchise have got a major setback as their key all-rounder Liam Livingstone has been ruled out as he is yet to get a fitness clearance from the ECB.

The Punjab Kings franchise had bought Liam Livingstone for INR 11.50 crore in the IPL 2022 mega auction. Along with Shikhar Dhawan, Liam Livingstone is their key batter for the upcoming edition of the Indian Premier League.

Liam Livingstone had amassed 437 runs in 14 games at an average of 36.42 in the previous edition of IPL. He had also scalped 6 wickets in IPL 2023. In the absence of Jonny Bairstow, the PBKS franchise need him to fire even more.

Liam Livingstone is likely to remain available from the second game for Punjab Kings

Livingstone last played an international game for England during the T20 World Cup. He was part of the squad that played the final against Pakistan. The all-rounder was then selected for the Test Series against Pakistan in December last year. While Livingstone made his test debut in the series against Pakistan, he sustained a knee injury after which returned back to Engaged after the Rawalpindi Test. Since then he hasn’t played any major games.

As per the sources, Liam Livingstone would be available for selection from the second game onwards. Punjab Kings will take on Rajasthan Royals on April 5 in Guwahati in their second game of IPL 2023. The ECB is currently conducting scans to determine Livingstone’s fitness status in order to give him the NOC. Meanwhile his English counterpart Jonny Bairstow has been ruled out of the entire IPL 2023 season as he hasn’t fully recovered from the freak injury he sustained while playing golf.

It’s worth noting that Punjab Kings will also miss the services of their key pacer Kagiso Rabada in their opening game against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 1. With Liam Livingstone and Kagiso Rabada getting ruled out of the first game, Punjab Kings will have to choose four overseas players from just six available options.