Liam Livingstone set to be available for the entirety of IPL 2023; Jonny Bairstow denied NOC by ECB - Reports 

England all-rounder Liam Livingstone will be available for the entire Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 season after the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) cleared his participation.

However, the same cannot be said for fellow Englishman Jonny Bairstow, who has been denied a No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the cricketing board. The wicketkeeper-batter sustained a major freak injury on a golf course ahead of the T20 World Cup 2022 and has not been in action since.

Bairstow underwent surgery to treat his broken leg and dislocated ankle in October 2022 and missed several of England's international assignments during that timeframe.

According to a report by Cricbuzz, Bairstow is close to making a full recovery. But the ECB believes that, given the nature of the injury he recovered from along with the long layoff that came with it, the IPL might be a huge step right away. He is expected to be available for the Ashes series at home, which begins on June 16.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) will have to address Bairstow's absence, given that he was set to open the innings with newly appointed skipper Shikhar Dhawan.

With Mayank Agarwal released, the franchise might be on the lookout for other options to fill the Englishman's void.

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PBKS' big money signings Livingstone and Curran to feature through the entire IPL

Apart from Liam Livingstone, PBKS record signing Sam Curran will also feature throughout the course of the campaign.

The franchise shelled out an eye-boggling ₹18.50 crore on the all-rounder to begin his second stint after having played for them in the 2019 season as well.

There were doubts over Livingstone's participation as he was ruled out of the Pakistan tour with injury. The all-rounder, unfortunately, sustained a knee injury while fielding during his maiden Test appearance itself.

Since then, he has gone on to be part of the Lancashire County Cricket Club's off-season training and returned home after making progress.

Livingstone was an instrumental figure for the franchise the previous season. He scored 437 runs at a strike rate of 182.08 and was among the standout performers in the middle order across the tournament.

Other English players like Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, and Ben Stokes have also been given the official green light by the ECB to partake in the IPL.

They are set to join their respective franchises soon for pre-season training ahead of the season, which kick-starts on March 31.

Will PBKS miss the services of Jonny Bairstow at the top of the order in IPL 2023? Let us know what you think.