England wicket-keeper batter Jonny Bairstow is all set to return to competitive cricket for Yorkshire this coming week and is set to keep wicket for his team. Bairstow has not played cricket since suffering a freak injury on a golf course in September, which ruled him out of the 2022 Twenty20 World Cup and IPL 2023.
It was reported that he broke his leg while enjoying golf with mates in Yorkshire and underwent a surgical procedure in London a couple of days later. He suffered an injury after slipping that caused multiple fractures in his fibula.
The 33-year-old will turn out for Yorkshire against Nottinghamshire and is touted to keep the wickets for his side and will prove his fitness ahead of the all-important Ashes series against Australia starting on June 16 in Edgbaston.
“He’s had such a long layoff, so it’s a fitness assessment for him to see what his capacity is and what he can do on the field in terms (of) running around in the outfield or standing behind the stumps, He will probably do both to see which one he’s most comfortable with,” Yorkshire head coach Ottis Gibson.
If Jonny Bairstow proves his fitness ahead of the one-off match against Ireland, he could replace their regular wicket-keeper Ben Foakes in the playing 11. Bairstow has been in sensational form in red-ball cricket in 2022 scoring four brilliant centuries and has been a mainstay in Ben Stokes-led side before an injury kept him out of the side.
Harry Brook replaced Jonny Bairstow in the team and has done exceptionally well in the limited opportunity. The 24-yea has so far scored 809 runs from 6 matches at an average of 80.9 with an impressive strike rate of 98.80 in the longer format. The batter is expected to be a big part of the future of England cricket in all formats of the game.
Punjab Kings Are Missing Jonny Bairstow In The Middle Order In IPL 2023
The England Wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was hugely missed by the Punjab Kings in IPL 2023, as the Shikhar Dhawan-led side has an inexperienced batting lineup in the middle order as Bairstow is one of the best white-ball players in the world. In IPL 2022, Bairstow scored 253 runs in 11 innings with a strike rate of 144.57 along with two half-centuries. Bairstow was bought by Punjab Kings (PBKS) for INR 6.75 crores in the 2022 auction.
Punjab Kings had an inconsistent season so far in 2023, as they have won four matches out of their seven games in the league stage and will look to add more consistency to the game plan to go further in the league, They were without the services of their regular skipper Shikhar Dhawan for past three games, but have managed to come over the top in the two games.