In what came as another bad news for Punjab Kings (PBKS) and their fans, Raj Angad Bawa was on April 5 (Wednesday) ruled out of the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The franchise, which is gunning for their maiden IPL glory, signed lesser-known Indian all-rounder Gurnoor Singh Brar for Rs 20 lakh as Bawa's replacement. The 20-year-old Bawa has been ruled out with an injury to his left shoulder. He played two matches for the Punjab-based franchise last season, ending up with 11 runs.
Talking about Brar, the 22-year-old represents Punjab in First-Class cricket. He made his debut in 2022, and until now, has represented the state in a total of five First-Class matches. The left-handed batter has so far he has aggregated 107 runs at a strike rate of 120.22 in red-ball cricket. Brar, who bowls left-arm medium pace, has also accounted for seven wickets at an economy of 3.80. The young all-rounder is yet to feature in a T20 game.
The Punjab-based franchise already suffered a big blow right ahead of the cash-rich tournament as injured Jonny Bairstow was ruled out of the entire tournament.
"We regret to inform you that Jonny Bairstow will not be a part of the IPL this season because of his injury. We wish him the best and look forward to seeing him next season.” PBKS posted on its Twitter account.
Earlier, reports had claimed that the 33-year-old was still undergoing rehab for the metal plate he had inserted in his left leg, in the aftermath of a freak injury suffered from slipping while playing golf.
Bairstow broke his left leg and dislocated his ankle on September 2, days before the third and final Test of England's home series against South Africa.
With England set to lock horns with Australia in the Ashes 2023 later this year, ECB reportedly decided to deny NOC to Bairstow who hasn’t played professional cricket since August.
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