On March 1, the Punjab Kings of Shikhar Dhawan are scheduled to face the Kolkata Knight Riders in the first game of the 2019 Indian Premier League. To shed their reputation as perpetual underachievers, the team will look to World Cup-winning manager Trevor Bayliss and new captain Shikhar Dhawan. The loss of power-hitter Liam Livingstone for the opening game of the 2023 IPL is a devastating blow to the club.
A reliable source informed PTI that Livingstone wouldn’t be playing in the opening game, at least as the ECB evaluates his fitness. Furthermore, he said that the power-hitter ought to be available starting with the second game.
Livingstone will sit out the first game because the ECB hasn’t given him the go-ahead to play after he recovered from a knee injury he sustained in December.
Livingstone, a vital player for the Punjab Kings team because of his versatility, hasn’t played any cricket since December 1 because of a knee injury sustained in Pakistan. On Wednesday, he shared a video of himself hitting the nets on his social media accounts.
Livingstone had his best-ever IPL season in the 2022 season, scoring 437 runs in 14 games with an astounding strike rate of 182.08 and an average of 36.42. Moreover, he had taken six wickets.
Punjab reached its sole final in 2014 and finished sixth overall over the previous four seasons. The squad will aim to capture its first championship this year.
Punjab Kings Squad for IPL 2023
- Shikhar Dhawan (Captain)
- Bhanuka Rajapaksa
- Shahrukh Khan
- Harpreet Bhatia
- Rishi Dhawan
- Liam Livingstone
- Atharva Taide
- Raj Bawa
- Sam Curran
- Sikandar Raza
- Mohit Rathee
- Jonny Bairstow
- Jitesh Sharma
- Prabhsimran Singh
- Harpreet Brar
- Rahul Chahar
- Baltej Singh
- Nathan Ellis
- Kagiso Rabada
- Arshdeep Singh
