England batsman Jonny Bairstow will be available for the entire duration of the Indian Premier League starting March 22, despite only recently returning home after a lengthy Test tour of India. On the sidelines of the Dharamsala Test, the BCCI officials were in discussions with their counterparts from the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) about the availability of their players for the IPL. Test guests like skipper Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Mark Wood had already made themselves unavailable for the lucrative T20 competition as part of the ECB's workload management after the five-Test series that ended in Dharamsala on Sunday.
“Bairstow is expected to arrive in India on March 18 or 19 and will be available for the team's first match against Delhi Capitals on March 23,” an IPL source said.
Bairstow, who played his 100th Test in Dharamsala, had a memorable time with the bat in India and would love to be among the runs in the IPL again.
Wasim Jaffer was dismissed from the position of batting advisor
Sanjay Bangar, who was appointed as the director of cricket at Punjab Kings ahead of the 2024 edition, will serve as the side's batting coach. Bangar was previously with RCB and was also India's batting coach.
Considering the fact that the franchise has parted ways with Wasim Jaffer, who was the team's batting advisor last season.
Punjab, whose only last appearance came in the 2014 edition, have been a perennial underachiever in the IPL.
Head coach Trevor Bayliss' contract expires after this season and Punjab will have to make it to the play-offs before having a chance of an extension.
Dharamsala hosts the team's two home matches
While the schedule for the entire season is yet to be announced, Punjab is expected to play their last two home matches in Dharamsala like last season.
The remaining five matches will be held at the new stadium built in Mullanpur, Mohali.
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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